An Open Letter To My Little Sister

Dear little sister,

I want you to know just how much I love you. Although I don't always tell you I love you or tell you how much I appreciate everything you do for me, I want you to know that I do. You are ALWAYS the one that I want to talk to when I am having an anxiety attack at night.

Your soothing words make everything seem less painful and awfully less dramatic than it actually is. Without even knowing if what you say is enough, it always is. With tears flowing down my face, and gasps of air coming out of my mouth you always manage to calm me to a norm. It is in these moments that I realize that there is truly no better friend than a sister.

I want you to know that the millions of movies we watch together help me make memories with you that I will never forget. Our movie nights, which consist of watching two to four hours worth of movies usually lead to staying up way past our "bedtime" and laughing at absolutely nothing because we are completely exhausted. Our laughter that is obnoxiously loud leads to Mom coming in to yell at us saying that we are going to wake everyone up. But it is in these moments that I make the best memories because we are so stupid and so exhausted that everything seems 6,000 times better than it truly is.

Do you remember that time that I just yelled at you for absolutely nothing? I do because it happened a lot. I apologize for this because I know that I tore you down. I know there came a point in my life where everything caused me to take it out on you, and it was not fair. I apologize if I hurt you because I never meant to. I love you more than you know, more than I tell you, and I never meant to take my emotions out on you, you were never the source.

I hope that you have learned from my mistakes and that you will continue to do so. Although we are only a few years apart, when we hit the same milestones, I hope that you choose the path that you want to, not because I did, or because I said so. I want you to make informed decisions based on what you have seen me go through and off of what you truly want. In doing so, I want you to be happy, the happiest that you can be. I want you to smile at every opportunity you can, because without your smile, life is gloomy and dull.

I hope that you live your life the way you want to. I don't want you to feel like you have to live in the image of me. Yes, I may "set standards" but who cares?! You are you, and no one can change that. Don't confine yourself to boundaries when you were born unique and made to exceed them.

I want you to know that I am proud of you.You have gone through a lot in your lifetime thus far, and I love seeing you excel in everything you do! I take pride in calling you my sister! In the lifespan you have had, I have had the opportunity to watch you grow inside of Mom, I held you in the hospital, and I helped you learn to walk. I hope that you carry me with you wherever you go, because you are always with me and are always in my heart. I love you deeply and cherish everything you do!

I hope that I too make you proud. I hope that I am someone you want to call your sister. I hope that in the years to come you find success in your life. I cannot wait to see you fall in love one day, get married and stand beside you at your beautiful wedding! I can't wait to grow old with you and see how wrinkly we become!

I love you my dear sister, more than you will ever know! Keep me in your heart forever as you will be in mine.

All my love,

Brittany