I stumbled across a letter I wrote to my older sister two years before she got married. I think the letter remains open to all little sisters watching and looking up to their big sisters in awe, and to every girl who should feel empowered about being forceful and bold.

To be exact we are 10 years and 12 days apart and because of those 10 years and 12 days, I’ve been able to witness, in the shadows, some of your greatest triumphs and the greatest pitfalls in your life. But, your pitfalls have always led to triumphs and your triumphs have always led to greater triumphs.

The journey you’re about to embark on will lead you to encounter many more pitfalls and because of those, many more triumphs will come. In the words of Ernest Hemingway, “Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”

So, live forcefully. Be a force of nature wherever you may be led to and let your force be a force of passion and elegance that is distinguished within the journey on which you’re bound to embark.

With the utmost love and thankfulness, I will always be with you, witnessing your triumphs and pitfalls. I am so thankful to be the one who can see you becoming greater with every turn. Thank you for being my sister.

The only thing I could ever ask of you is to be yourself and let yourself manifest into whomever you were created to be, rooted in your purpose and growing in your spirit. Be so many things, because you can be that.