Happy heavenly birthday to my little brother

I wrote this post a long time ago. We’re talking four or five years ago maybe. Today is my little brothers birthday, and I figured it was time to re-post this for him. So, enjoy!

March 3, 1998. Four years after my birthday. I wasn’t sure how I was going to like having a little brother. I mean come on, I had four years with all the attention on me and then suddenly a little pudgy blowfish-like child comes into our family. But it was okay. I started to love Yiorgo as my little brother. We had so much fun growing up no matter what we did. Whether it was us playing an NBA video game and him “accidentally” pausing the game right when I was about to score so I would miss the shot or playing basketball in the driveway, it was always exciting. Especially when Yiorgo thought he was more athletic than he actually was. When we would play basketball, we would have to (obviously) lower the hoop a little bit, and he would constantly try to dunk on me. To this day I have no idea why he thought he could jump so high, but I blocked him every time and then he’d say “FOUL!”. You know, those types of arguments everyone has when playing sports with their siblings. 

If you knew Yiorgo, you knew he was one of the happiest and probably the funniest person in your life. Whether he meant to or not, he could always make you laugh. One thing that makes me laugh until I cry to this day is when Yiorgo was working at JAKS Warehouse and he had to wear this bright safety vest. After work one day he came home in his uniform. My mom and I start teasing him about how much he is like our dad. He could not stand that. If there is anything Yiorgo wanted to be, it was his own person. It was nothing personal against our father, Yiorgo just wanted to be Yiorgo. Anyways, we were teasing him while he was wearing his bright orange safety vest and he said, “I am nothing like dad!”. Five seconds later our dad gets home from work, and he was wearing the same exact outfit as Yiorgo. Jeans and of course, the bright orange safety vest. I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. 

While Yiorgo was just like our dad, he was also very much like our mom. A little background on my mom: she knows everybody. And I mean EVERYONE. Yiorgo was the exact same way. Everyone in high school knew who he was, and everyone in college did too even though he was only there for two short months. To quote one of our Sigma Chi brothers, “Yiorgo was like a mayor of a town. Everybody knew him”. It is hard for me to describe how much of an impact my brother had on people’s lives, but I will tell you this. He had 3,000+ people standing outside, all the way down the street at his wake. That should tell you something. There is a speech Yirogo’s “big bro” (and one of my good friends) Joel, from Sigma Chi, wrote at a ceremony they had for him after he passed that I wanted to share.  Here it is: 

“First of all, thank you for coming out everyone. It is truly amazing to see how many lives Yiorgo has touched in his short time here at ISU. For those of you that do not know, I am Yiorgo’s big bro in the Sigma Chi Fraternity. The first time I met Yiorgo was at our very first rush event. His exact first words were “hi I’m Yiorgo, Peter’s little brother”. And I know I’m not the only one who told him to repeat his name multiple times. But I am pretty sure he introduced himself as “Peter’s little brother” to every single person on ISU’s campus. In this short time, I don’t think I have ever bonded with someone so quickly. Yiorgo was so easy going and loveable that it was hard to not get along with him. I know its cliché to say that every time he walked in a room he lit it up, but that was Yiorgo. Always making the best out of any situation. I can say that I truly believe that we were all supposed to meet Yiorgo because he was a living angel. So, everyone let us show our love to Yiorgo by writing heartfelt messages on these balloons and sending them his way. Thank you, #LiveLikeYiorgo”. 

Wow. I honestly don’t think I can explain my brother better than that. He was so lovable and loving and truly a one-of-a-kind person. I wish he was still here and I wish he was at my wedding (physically). I know he was there spiritually because there was no way I would have acted the way I did if I did not feel his presence there (if you were there you know what I mean). My brother was an amazing young man and he really would have changed the world. My family and I are so thankful for all the messages and kind gestures from everyone during that difficult period in our lives. Even to this day people are still so kind. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

I hope you enjoyed this blog. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN HEAVEN YIORGO! We miss and love you so much and I hope you are reading this. I’ll see you again one day. 

Until next time,

Peter