Family Portrait

Throughout his life, my older brother has overcome many obstacles; the most difficult being his almost total blindness. Though he is almost twenty-four and now lives away from home, I would have to imagine that he still has at least some issues with a number of every-day tasks. I am thankful, however, that he has a loving wife to support him and assist him with some of the things he might think he can do on his own (due to his unwavering stubbornness) but may not quite be able to accomplish. Aside from his determination, some of his other prominent personality traits are his kindness and his incredible intelligence. Brandon is a very special person in that he has faced many challenges due to his impairment, yet has not let anything slow him down.

While living with my mother and her terrible boyfriend, despite being bullied by someone who was supposed to be a father figure to him and despite having almost no help from any adult in the household, he still led an almost normal life. He was forced to grow up at a very young age but never gave up trying to better himself and become more self-sufficient, which he has accomplished at an early age because of his incredible determination. Another amazing thing about my brother is that no matter how concerned he is with school or his social life or personal issues, he always finds time to help my sister and me or really anyone who needs his help. In fact, he has an entire business dedicated to helping people in the way he knows best: computer repair.

It may not be as helpful as a non-profit healthcare center in a third-world country, but I’m confident that, if he had the resources, that’s what he would be doing. (He also does some charity work on the side which probably helps a bit more than computer repair). Without his unbelievable intelligence, none of that would be possible for him. Building his own business, becoming so independent so fast, having enough income to be able to spare a little bit for a different charity every year. Throughout high school and college, every teacher he has had has commended him on his intellect and natural knack for learning.