When I was younger, I used to want to have a sister. There was a time when my mother wanted to adopt a younger girl. However, it simply never happened. For the longest time, I lived life without knowing what it would be like to have somebody that is like a sister to me. There was one friend in particular who I thought was a sister to me since we knew each other for a long time, but we eventually drifted apart. She still remains a friend to me, but the realization that she was not as close to me as I thought she was did not change the fact that I had no clue what it was like to have somebody that was like a sister to me.

As time passed, I eventually stopped thinking about what I would be like to have a girl that is like a sister in my life. That changed when I met Amanda, my sister from another mister. The first time I heard of her, she was the only person who was campaigning for the Executive Secretary position at the New York Region of Phi Theta Kappa’s Regional Convention last March and her name was on a flier. I never thought that we would become close but as I began to get to know her better, I started to call her sis. One year later, she became my sister from another mister since we bonded through Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Through our bonding, I realized what it is like to have a sister from another mister. Here are some moments that summarized what it has been like for her to be my sister from another mister.

1.The first such memory I had was when I was working on a poster for my brother’s science class that he was going to teach over the summer and we had a laughing war via text.

Yes. I know it sounds odd, but it we had so much fun. What it indicated to me was that when you have a certain kind of bond with somebody, you can find many different and simple ways to have fun and connect. (Don’t tell her this but I can totally out laugh her in person. She knows it.)

2. Secondly, I remember when I spoke to her on the phone while I was recovering from surgery on my right shoulder after I dislocated it and had part of it 3/4's of an inch higher than rest of my shoulder.

She asked me how I was doing and how my recovery was going. I cannot recall much else, but it reminded me how much she cared about me and I appreciated it. It’s simple acts of kindness such as that which result in easier recovery whether it’s from a break up, a physical injury, or an overall terrible week.

3.There was also the time when the New York Regional Officer Team of Phi Theta Kappa was together in Syracuse, New York to plan the Regional Honors Institute 2015.

We were walking back from either dinner or going to the Italian Festival in downtown Syracuse and Amanda and I got into a sass competition and at one point, I said something incredibly sassy and pulled off an impressive z snap. The bottom line was I won the sass competition. All the same, she is naturally more sassy than me since sass is practically in her DNA so if I did the same sass competition today, she would more likely than not win.

4. One last memory, or rather set of memories, that I can think of off the top of my head is when we would talk about who we were talking to and give each other relationship advice.

It was a rather difficult time since I had been struggling to get over this one girl while trying to maintain a friendship with her even though I still had feelings for her. I was thankful that Amanda was there for me as somebody I felt comfortable to talk about my situation to. If I did not have her as somebody to talk to, the situation would have been worse than it already was.

I am sure that there are plenty of other memories that explain the kind of relationship I have had with Amanda during the time she has been my sister from another mister. I simply cannot remember enough of the details or cannot figure out how to describe all of them. Plus, the article would be too long if I tried to include every special memory.

Ultimately, I am happy that I have been fortunate enough to have Amanda in my life as my sister from another mister. Though I miss her, I have plenty of memories to remind me about how much she means to me. I love her and I am glad that she became a part of my Phi Theta Kappa family and then became a part of my actual family, even though it was in a symbolic way.