Intentionally sentimental, indeed. The first thing you do here is elevate your 'engineer work ethic' above your brother who is
merely an artist.
You go on to describe how your brother did all this nice stuff for you and didn't judge you despite you doing nothing to prepare and coming to the event as a spectator.
You mention how for the first time ever you realize maybe you aren't that important to society. How surprising it is to find out maybe you aren't the most well-rounded person ever.
Like a 30 minute sitcom you wrap up your story saying your relationship with your brother is now a team of equals due to the experience. What was your brother's growth in this little story? That his big important engineer brother might not look down on him now?
Are you really a changed person due to this one week experience? Someone who doesn't measure their life value by their engineering contributions, who respects artists and their lifestyle? Is that the story you are telling?
On top of that, being top comment means this will undoubtedly influence HN readers to ask themselves, "What a nice story. Maybe I should go to Burning Man this year. Maybe people will accept me as a spectator and I will be fine going in with no preparation and have some major philosophical realization about myself."
So I'm reading this episode of Friends comment, hoping you at least do some justice to these potential attendees. But, no. After a successful sparkle pony ride down your memory lane you make a point to acknowledge drug use and bartering. Which shows you really don't know how to represent the event and that this is a weak intro to what it is for HN readers considering attendance for the first time. Doubling down by invoking a description by "the media" is fitting.
Your story reads as possibly accurate yet wildly incomplete portrayal of your relationship with your brother. To quote another commenter, this was a "great comment" to someone who has never gone to Burning Man and does not have a sibling. Hence, my summary of it as "cute."
For folks considering attending Burning Man for the first time here are some things OP missed:
1. Don't show up unprepared.
2. Don't go expecting some kind of breakthrough. Don't go with expectations of any kind.
3. Read the 10 Principals that Larry Harvey wrote in 2004.[1]
[1] https://burningman.org/culture/philosophical-center/10-princ...