Late Night Talks with my Brother

A few years ago, I walked past my brother's room and saw him watching an anime. I lingered in his doorway to watch for a couple of minutes before walking away. The show was a little strange in my opinion, but I figured he liked it, so whatever.

 I noticed him watching it a lot, and came upon an idea. I had been trying to have a better relationship with him, and I needed a way to get closer to him. 

Epiphany: Watch the weird anime with him. 

I showed interest, and he started the show over to watch with me. We started watching a couple of episodes together every night, and then we would talk about it for a while after. We finished that show, started another. Surprisingly, I started to really enjoy the shows we would watch.

Our conversations started moving toward other things, and then we would spend several hours talking after our show. When I went to college, every time I would come home to visit, we would talk in his room and watch a few episodes of a show. We have one manga (book version of an anime) that we read every week, and then text or call each other to talk about it. We still do it, even though our late night TV watching sessions are over because of our diverging lives. 

I was able to use something my brother loved to become closer to him. At first, it was just the show that made us spend time together. Then it became something wonderful, and I have a very good relationship with my brother that stemmed from it. 

If used correctly, media can be a wonderful tool to build relationships. It can give you something in common, a shared interest, as way to spend time together. 

All it took was a little effort on my part to notice what he liked, and show a little interest. It's amazing how much people open up when you show a little interest in what they like.