Better Change for the Good by Tallulah Cord
CHANGED FOR GOOD…The students were asked to reflect on a relationship that has affected their life for the better.
MINGO…relates how a young man named Bird has changed her for good.
Better Change for the Good
There are a lot of people that I can write about; within friends, family, and teachers, there are more than a few people that have changed me for the better.
In my family, my dad, mom, and younger brother have had quite the impact on me. I will dedicate this section to my younger brother. As much as I want this to be a heartful piece I can’t guarantee it. My brother’s name is Bird. That’s a story in itself. You might be asking me; why is your brother named Bird? Although he will never admit it, I’m pretty sure when I got my nickname ‘Mingo’ he looked up to me, and wanted a nickname as well. He was into birds at the time (we all were!), hence the name: Bird.
Bird and I differ more often than not. We don’t have a lot in common, but the things we do have in common are: reading, talking, watching movies/series (yep! That’s about it). My brother was born in 2013 which means that he is Gen Alpha. The 67 jokes in my household stem mainly from him (and my dad surprisingly). So the question remains: How do you interact with a member of Gen Alpha? Sometimes, I will just be minding my business, doing my homework, cleaning my room and then I hear it. Bird will come into our shared room and start talking about something along the lines of Tralalero Tralala, Bombombini Gusini, and Tung Tung Tung Sahur or some internet reference. It’s a hard life to live. I usually just reply with some equally brainroted word. That works for the time. Okay but all jokes aside, they are a tolerable person, and occasionally fun to be around. When that time comes we talk about books. I take great pride in the fact that I got him into reading. That right, I turned an Ipad, brainroted, Skibidi loving, sigma into an occasional book read. Yeah, I did that. All me. The book series that I urged him to pick up was a mystery and thriller type of genre. After the first chapter of that book, they were hooked. I didn’t even have to ask him to read the next book in the series. He yearned for it. The discussion that followed after reading all three books was no short of amazing. The thing is, he only read in school when there was nothing else to do. Anytime we would take a road trip I would beg him, “Please read your book. Just a couple more chapters.” and he would reply by saying the phone is more important. I would watch as the child’s face was bathed in ghoulish blue light from a small rectangle.
How has Bird changed me for the good? I would, without joking, say I have more patience and tolerance for people, because having to put up with that all day has strengthened me. Another thing would be trust. I think that out of everyone in the whole world, I trust him the most. I’m quite certain we know everything about each other, I tell him everything. He is a good person. I like talking about TV series and books with him as well as the occasional 67 joke.
After having written this I feel like I have mostly slandered his name, so take this as a disclaimer. I love my brother. He is a cool, talented, and funny person. I like talking with him about anything and everything, we switch topics in conversation without warning, nobody knows what will be said next. In conclusion, I love my brother.
Mingo Cord
11/07/2025