Dear Little Brother,
You may be a good half-foot taller than me, but you're still little... little-er than me at least!
The past 15 years of life with you have sure been a party. Now that we're both in high school, the prospect of college looms on the horizon. We've gone to the same school since the beginning of time, but next year will be different. The longest time I've gone without seeing you is around five weeks. Not to mention, every time we see each other in the school hallways, we both crack up laughing. What can I say? We're silly at heart. How will I ever go an entire semester without your incessant dabbing?
It's funny how people often mistake us as twins because in many ways, we are. I think it's amazing that we get along so well and have never had a fight — just another testament to how great of a sibling pair we are. From our identical Chipotle orders to our guilty pleasure songs (Noah Cyrus, you rock), we share countless similarities.
Next year, I won't be around to bug you as often as I do now. So I'll leave you with some sisterly advice.
Laugh as much as you can. Between the two of us, the inside jokes are infinite. A good laugh can brighten even the worse of days. I'm thankful you've always shared your hilarious jokes, math puns and dank memes with me.
Stand up for yourself. Not everyone will agree with what you want to do or with what you want to pursue. That's fine. There's no need to tear them down, and likewise, there's no need to let them tear you down either. Friends, coaches and teachers might think they know what's best for you, but don't be afraid to take things with a grain of salt. Keep an open mind at all times, but hold tightly to your beliefs.
Explore. If there's one thing that I can tell you about the high school experience, it's that it is a long, long journey. Rigorous coursework, more extracurriculars than imaginable, full-commitment sports — where is the free time? I know how you feel. The temptation is to do something so that it'll "look good on your college app." I think there is both good and harm in that. Do something that you want to do, or something that challenges you. Then, it'll actually be worth putting on your college app.
Your intelligence, drive and humility never cease to amaze me. High school is a rocky adventure, so bravely explore your path and know that mistakes are okay (you should learn from them, though). Don't let failure or rejection define you.
Speaking of which, that brings me to college. In six months, that's where I'll be. I will dearly miss our daily car ride jams (honestly though, I still don't understand how you know the lyrics to every song). Even more so, I'll miss our near daily Taco Bell runs and math tournament antics. But most importantly, we must preserve our matching backpacks tradition (four years strong)!
I couldn't ask for a better little brother (I really can't). You know what they say — siblings by blood, best friends by choice.
Never stop being your radiant self,
Your Big Sister
P.S. Thanks for always having a perfect "Mean Girls" quote handy. What would I do without you?
*** Cue the Little Brothers song from "Phineas and Ferb" ***
