Dear Little One,
As my teenage years have finally ended, it seems yours are just beginning. I remember being 13 like it was just yesterday, and yet, somehow, it was seven years ago. As hard as it is for you to believe, I remember feeling all the same things you probably feel right now. I remember being insanely obsessed over boys, wanting them to like me and think I was pretty, and blaming myself if they didn’t. I remember wanting everyone’s approval of me more than I wanted my approval of myself. Being a teenager is very confusing. Your heart is telling you to do and say and feel things that you are entirely way too young to comprehend. You are going to make mistakes, lots of mistakes, but if there’s anything you should ever remember, it’s that you are not alone. You will always have me.
On the nights you can barely sleep because you’re crying over your first heartbreak, call me. When you blame yourself for overthinking a situation or not understanding why things didn’t work out, remember that sometimes things just don’t work out; you won’t always have an explanation for everything.
When it feels like your heart is shattered in a million pieces and you don’t know how to face the day, get up and remember your worth. You don’t have to water yourself down for anyone and I’ll be damned if I ever let you think you should.
If your friends leave you, let them leave. You don’t need to convince anyone to stay in your life if it’s not where they want to be.
Never settle for second place and always give your best; I mean this academically and personally. You are no one’s second option and you can do anything you set your mind to.
Don’t fall for anyone’s BS. If something seems too good to be true, take a step back from the situation and think realistically before you act irrationally based on your emotions.
It doesn’t really matter if you fit in. Really, it doesn’t. Ten years from now you will all be living your own lives and it won’t matter who wore name-brand clothes and who shopped at Wal-Mart. If you want something nice that badly, earn it. There’s no better feeling than working for what you have and knowing it wasn’t just handed to you.
To me, you’ll always be the little girl who cuddled with me and watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, and when boys start checking you out at the mall I’m going to have to remember that I’m an adult and yelling obscenities at 13-year-old boys is frowned upon. You’ll never be good enough for anyone in my eyes, and you should just know that now. I’ve been protective of you from the beginning, but that’s only because to me you’ve always been capable of far more than you give yourself credit for. One day you’ll meet your soulmate and I hope it’s everything you’re imagining it to be in your head but for now just have fun. You’ll never live the same day twice. Being a teenager is about learning who you are and who you want to be without the complications of anyone else. Boys will always come and go, but sisters are forever, and I’m so lucky to have a sister like you.
Love you always (no matter how many times you steal my clothes or act like a total brat),
Your Big Sister
