To my dearest brother on his birthday,

Now seems like a good a time as any to just say thank you. Thank you for always being there for me and for our family when we needed it. Mom has always stood by my side through anything I went through, Dad has always stood in front of me to protect me, but you always stood behind me. It may seem like an unnoticed spot, but you're the one who is always there to push me when I need it. You give me an extra boost when I'm sad. You support me with everything, whether it's sitting through dance recitals (hey, I sat through how many hours of your sports games?), helping me with Math homework, encouraging me to do my best, or even wiping a tear every now and then. You're like my own personal cheerleader who thinks the best of me whether I'm winning or losing.

When I was born, you gained the title of big brother and all of the responsibility that went with it. You may have groaned and rolled your eyes more than a few times since then, but you always fulfilled the job and went above and beyond the big brother call of duty. And, because of you, I got some extra bullet points under my job description that day too. Mostly, to annoy you to no end, because what else are little sisters for? You're never gonna get rid of that. It's my lifelong job. But so is supporting you, being there for you no matter what, and being that little voice inside your head that always says go for it. Take the chance. Go big or go home.

We're both one year older now, although when we fight, it takes me right back to when we were kids. It may seem strange to say on your birthday, but I can't think of anyone else with that I can get angrier with sometimes. I guess it's just a sibling thing- you fight with each other whether you're 18 or 80. Fighting with you, though, gives me some strange sort of comfort; it takes me back to when we were kids, when the only real problem we had to fight about was whether or not the Easter Bunny exists. (And that time you got really mad when I kicked your PlayStation by accident.) When I get mad at you for talking loud too early in the morning or for eating my leftovers, I forget how much you can make me smile. Again, sibling thing. It's just natural to wanna disagree with you, I guess.

So yeah, you can drive me up a wall, but you can also make me laugh and make me so proud until my heart hurts and my eyes well up. I smile when I see you happy and it hurts to see you hurt. We're both building futures for ourselves and I cannot wait to see what you make of it because you're insanely smart and resourceful yet humble and humorous to boot. So, celebrate today, big bro. You deserve it and much more. I love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond, and, although I risk sounding TOO cliche, with all my heart. Happy birthday, and, I pray, many more.