(cards shuffling)
(clicking)
- How would our relationship be different
if I was the older brother?
- I would obviously be better still.
- No, no, no.
- I would be stronger.
- No, you wouldn't.
- Yeah, I would be that little brother
that just bullies the big brother.
- No, you would not. - Yeah I would.
- If we went back in time and I was the older
brother, I would bully you just because I know
if you were the older brother. - I know
but then once I got taller like you
and then you would get bullied so bad.
- No. I'm taller than you and I bully you.
- You don't bully me.
- Yes I do.
- No you do not.
Nobody bullies me.
- Yes, I bully you.
- When was our proudest moment together?
- I don't really know that one.
- I think like, we have a whole bunch,
like when we just do stuff like randomly.
I remember that one time that kid
tried to beat you up.
And then I came - Oh yeah, the neighbor?
- Out of nowhere.
- The neighbor?
- Yeah and then we started fighting.
I think like how we stuck together made
me kind of proud, because I didn't think
that me and you would like, teamwork like that.
I feel like me and you
- Start arguing after like 5 seconds.
- Yeah and then we're just like,
are good on our own.
Like when we do teamwork together
that's when I feel proud.
What's your favorite thing about me?
- Kinda like how like when we're in front
of people you try to act all big and bad.
But I always know that you're not all big and bad.
- It's not acting big and bad, it's just like,
- Trying to show off?
- No, it's not showing off.
- Trying to act cool?
(laughs)
- It's not even trying to act cool,
it's like, um, I don't know.
Stating my place as a big brother, kind of.
- Yeah.
- Yeah because people think that you're older
than me and that's not really it,
just because you're like a little bit taller.
Like this much.
- No, I'm a lot taller. - yeah, your bare-
- Don't even lie, you're short.
(laughs)
Okay, I'm not that much taller.
What's something our parents taught us
you now know is wrong?
- Wait, let me read that.
- That they were out parents?
- Yeah. Like to be honest I didn't wanna find out.
To be honest.
Like I'd rather us just stay
like hidden from it all together.
'cause like now to be honest that like messed up my mindset.
- What do you mean, how?
- Like, I feel treated different by everybody else
since we're adopted, like not in a bad way,
like other people like give us like,
I don't know how to put this.
They give us,
- Sympathy?
- Sympathy. Like I don't want like sympathy
and we get talked about all the time.
And I don't like having all the attention on me.
- Yeah.
That's...
Oh, it's your turn.
- What is one experience you wish we never had?
- I would say finding out that we were adopted
but I kind of like, if I didn't,
if they didn't ever told us I would
have never thought that we were adopted,
but I feel like it would have been better if we didn't know.
- Yeah, I don't know.
Like when they told us I thought they
were playing around and pulling a prank.
- Yeah, until she started crying.
- And then she started crying and saying like,
all this stuff that we know happened
and I was like, okay now that's a little.
- Yeah.
- And then when you see dad start crying,
'cause you never see him crying
that's when you know - Yeah, that's how you know.
- it's true, and then I kind of had
a feeling that we were, just because
we didn't look like any of them.
I knew we were on
dad's side of the family. - What do you mean you
always say you look like mom.
- No, I was just kidding.
I'm not serious when I say that.
- Remember when we went to the restaurant
and then it was me and mom sitting alongside
you and dad and she's like, you all,
you look just like his son, you look just like your son.
- And wasn't like a week later they told us?
- Yeah.
- And I was like, she was a dang liar.
- She wasn't even close.
(laughs)
She was seeing stuff.
- Wait, is it my turn?
- No, it's my turn.
What are you hesitant to tell me?
That should be good.
- Oh, dang.
(laughs)
I wanna cry.
- What do you mean?
- It's like the adoption like,
I know that me and you have different points
of view on it but like the adoption I don't like,
I don't like talking about it 'cause
I know you like getting into it
and like talking about it.
I don't like talking about it or believing it
'cause outide of the family is like bad
and like, even though me and you know
that we're good kids, like when we would
go around that side of the family
they think like we have like a bad reputation.
- Yeah.
- And I don't like how people start like,
like assuming that we're bad kids
just because we came from a certain person
and that certain person lived a certain way.
Like how we go around that certain type of,
those certain people and they're like,
oh, those are so and so's kids.
- Yeah.
- And they're bad or they do this
or they do drugs or they do alcohol.
- Yeah. - Like even though they don't
see us they think that we do it just because she did it.
- Yeah.
- What do I still not understand about you?
- What you don't understand about me?
- What do I still not understand about you?
- That I like talking about it, I guess.
About the adoption.
- I kinda understand but then I kinda don't.
Wait, why would you, why would you wanna talk about it?
- Because I feel like it still happened, you know?
It's like part of your testimony
and to just like forget about it,
I feel like that's kinda messed up.
- I mean like, I wanna forget about it
because going fifteen plus years without knowing it,
is like kinda hard to take in.
Like even, remember the couple days after
they told us it was like everything was a dream?
- Yeah, it felt like a dream.
- Like you didn't, like your thoughts were blank.
- Yeah, it's like you didn't believe it
but you can't like get away from it.
It's like you can't change it.
- Yeah, I don't accept it 'cause I don't like
that side of the family.
And like even though we go around that side,
they like bring it up like all the time.
I don't wanna know, I don't wanna be
a part of that and then like saying,
oh, you have other brothers out there.
And I'm like, I don't really care about that,
I just care about our family and that's it.
How did you take the adoption?
I never really like,
- Yeah, it was like surprising but it was really
surprising but it didn't really affect me 'cause
it's in the past, it's not like an ongoing issue.
We still have a family and all that
and we're together so that doesn't matter.
- Yeah.
- I just kinda wanna meet our siblings.
- Yeah, the siblings is the only thing that I wanna do.
Not the dad or anything.
- Why not the dad?
- Because I kinda had like bad dreams about meeting him.
Even though I never told you those bad dreams.
It could happen.
- What do you mean?
- I just feel like he would try come in our lives
and kick dad out or start a big fight with dad
for no reason and try to say that we need to respect him
'cause he's our dad and like, no he's not.
We don't need to respect you, you're a random stranger.
- Yeah.
I feel like no matter what he has to say
or anything, I know he's not my dad.
Biologically he is, but he's not my dad.
He didn't raise me and he just gave up on us basically.
- Yeah, in my mind he's just a sperm donor.
That's it, to be honest 'cause he,
he didn't even want us.
- Yeah.
- I know he was young but like still,
he like left and did bad stuff.
He probably still does bad stuff.
- Yeah, if he really did care about us
he would still be here and taking care of us
but he didn't care at all.
What do you think life is teaching us right now?
- That we could conquer anything.
Knowing all that stuff happened to us,
it changed a lot because we found out some
medical conditions that we had.
Even though they don't affect us now,
it's just like, oh dang I had that and I overcame it?
It like gives you like a new perspective
on life that you can deal with anything,
you can conquer anything.
Like we don't show no, how do you say it?
No affects of it.
- Yeah.
- Like the fetal alcohol and Asperger's,
we don't show no, no effects of it.
Oh, it's my turn.
Why do you love me?
- Because you're my brother, of course.
But I think it made it like even more
when we found out we were adopted.
'Cause it feels like
like he wasn't there, he wasn't there
and then it's like nobody else wanted to step up
when we were there, nobody else wanted to step up
besides mom and dad 'cause everyone
else just didn't care, it felt like.
'Cause if they really did they would have stepped up
and said, oh, I'll take care of them 'cause I love them.
But no matter what we stuck, like it was just me and you.
I feel like.
- I think it got stronger 'cause
we know how it could've been.
Me and you couldn't even be right here.
Like we would even know each other 'cause then
we would have got put into foster care.
Probably different homes, not even knowing that,
like who everybody was, like mom and dad.
Like, we wouldn't know who they were.
I'm just happy that somebody at least stepped in
and loved us and didn't care what we were going through
like our medical conditions and stuff.
Actually took the time out.
- That was like real love, huh?
- Yeah.
- If you could give me anything in the world,
what would it be and why?
- You wanna know physically or like,
- What do you mean?
- Like, giving anything in the world means a lot.
- I don't know.
- I already give you like most of my stuff.
(laughs)
If like I were to pass away right now
and I had a will to write out,
you would probably get everything in my room.
- Your room?
- Yeah, 'cause that like means most to me,
like all the stuff I have hanging up.
You'd probably get this jacket 'cause it's my most,
the most important to me.
You'd probably get all my athletic stuff.
- Your phone, can I have your phone?
- No, the phone, - Dang it.
- Well yeah, you can have the phone
if I pass away right now, you obviously have the phone.
Most important to me like in my room right now
is like, the picture of grandpa.
- Oh yeah.
- 'Cause that means most to me.
- And the shirt.
- You would probably have that.
- What about if it's like anything like,
in the world like.
Is there anything in the world like,
if you like could get it and give it to me,
what would it be?
- I don't know, I probably would give you like a house.
Like that we both would live in.
I remember when we were younger we would always plan,
we wanted to live together.
- Oh yeah, we were gonna get a mansion.
- Yeah, I would probably get a mansion for like,
both of our families, 'cause I feel like
even though when we get older me
and you would probably be the closest.
- Probably.
- And we would probably live down
the street from each other.
- Every time we argue I'm like,
I'm never talking to him again
he's never gonna see my kids. - And then five seconds later.
- Next thing you know you say something funny
and we're both like,
oh, Thomas like this trailer just came out,
like what's coming out this summer?
- I remember the other day we were arguing
and then we stopped talking to each other,
it was like, hey Julian you want something to eat?
Yeah, make this and then we just started
having a full conversation.
- Hey, I'mma make a pizza, you want some?
(laughs)
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