Gus, you see, is that member of my family that I can relate to the most. You know, the member who looks the most like you and who is the most likely to think the same thing, act the same way, and do the same stupid actions that warrant an unhappy look from the parents. These little similarities are why Gus and I have been assigned the joint title of “IlGhorfeh Il Zahreyeh” (the pink room). This also means that Gus is the only member of the family who I’m constantly sniggering with.

But I guess there’s a certain sweetness to being so similar yet so different, because I love that kid so much.

I love Gus because he is one of the most unique humans you could ever possibly meet, in the crackhead sense of the word. He is the type of person who would come home with pierced ears, to the sheer horror of my parents, or get sent home from school because of a mohawk in full bloom.

I love Gus because he is also one of the most mature people around me. Yeah, he might be lazy and he might never get the door, the phone, or turn off the heater, but he will always try to balance out an argument, stop Hisham from doing something stupid (ahem), and play a round of Hearts with me.

I love Gus because he has an extreme amount of people skills. Trust him to weasel his way out of anything, charming smile and brilliant words.

I love Gus because he loves the little things, he is always up to going out for icecream, sneaking to Burger King late at night to buy fries, and drinking coffee on the pavement.

I love Gus because he is funny.

I love Gus because he can read my mind sometimes; we both can’t stand the same people and generally feel the same way about a lot of things.

I love Gus because of his sweetness and because of all the hugs he gives me. A hug from Gus is worth 10 from anyone else.

I love Gus because of his charm. It always amuses me that no one I know who has ever met Gus was not immediately smitten.

I love Gus because he is fun. Cups. Cups. Cups.

But most of all, I love Gus because he is Gus, and today is his sweet 16.

Happy birthday ya amar, hanat 7abeebi, two more years left to 18 :)