Dear Sister,

You and I both know that I incessantly complain about you. And you incessantly complain about me in return. You stole my clothes, I woke you up on your day off from work, you left my room a mess after raiding it, I lost your spot in Grey's Anatomy, and on goes the list. We annoy, irritate and anger one another on almost a daily basis, but I still consider myself incredibly lucky and blessed to call you not only my blood, but also my best friend. For as much as I may yell and scream at you, I smile and laugh with you twice that. As my summer vacation is winding down and the date that I am meant to return to school nears, I am forced to realize that we will again be parted for longer than the ten hours I am at work during the day, or the nights that you spend at your friends' houses. The more I sit and think about the moment when we will have to say these goodbyes, the more I realize just how thankful I am for you. So, here I am, trying to find a way to get all of these feelings into writing without making either of us too sad.

I have to start with the fact that as much as I love school, I hate leaving you. Not only do I miss you more than words could ever capture, but also, I am missing the monuments in your life that up until last August, I was able to witness myself. This past year was the first that I had not had the opportunity to sit and watch one of your soccer games. As foolish and seemingly meaningless as that may sound, they are important to me. You see, I know how much you love soccer. I know how talented you are. It gives me pride to watch you excel, especially in something that makes you so happy. It broke my heart hearing the details of how well you did through phone calls and text messages rather than not seeing them with my own two eyes. Despite how happy I was for you, it killed me not to be there to hug you as soon as you got off of the field.

You're starting your junior year now and, trust me, I know how important and utterly stressful it is. I also know that you will be great. It is a year of big opportunities and big mountains to climb, but I have faith in you. In fact, I have so much faith in you that I know that you will exceed your own expectations. Sadly, though, I know that you will be nervous. I know that you will be scared. I'm going to miss being able to sit in your room in the late hours of the night and just talk about our troubles and fears and, in between, the dumbest stories and memories we can think of. I'm going to hate that to do those things, I will have to be on Facetime miles and miles away instead of sitting on your bed. As sad as I am about this, though, please don't forget that I am JUST a phone call away. If and when you do need me, I won't hesitate to jump to your side, even if it means jumping on a train to rush home.

I know that I don't tell you that I am proud of you enough. I know that I should express these feelings much more often than I do, but truthfully, I don't know how. I am just watching you grow into this amazing woman and it's all happening so fast. Just know that in whatever you do, I am your cheerleader. I will always be right by your side, whether it be physically on the sideline of the field, virtually over Facetime, or mentally in thought, cheering you on. I know that you have only hit the tip of the iceberg in what you accomplish, so I really cannot wait to see what you manage to do in the future. Truthfully, you already amaze me in so many ways. You've struggled, faltered and fought, but you've also persevered and succeeded.

Something else that I've thought about greatly is the moments of pure happiness with you. I think about the nights that I'll be getting ready to go out, or go to sleep and you'll just burst through my door holding your phone in your hand and dancing to whatever 2007 hit single you decided on that night. I think about the snide remarks that we make back and forth. I think about the endless list of inside jokes that only can form after over sixteen years of living together. Again, I think about how we can now make these over Snapchat, or text message, or again, Facetime. It may seem impossible, but we did it last year and I know we will do it again this year.

Like I said when I began this letter, we do indeed drive each other crazy. We know exactly what buttons to push in order to irritate one another (like me unclipping your hair or you sending me pictures in my clothes), but that's what sisters do. When steam is not pouring from my ears due to your antics, I am usually trying to get in as many hugs from you as possible. When you are not screaming at me from the other end of the hallway, you are trying to fit in as many 'you and me' days as possible. We have never been the most verbal or linguistic siblings, unless you count yells, but we certainly are sentimental ones. With you, I know not to expect words depicting your feelings, but instead, I know how to find your emotion in your actions and attitudes. And trust me, I know that you will miss me like I will miss you, but I don't want you to worry. I am not too far. I am never unreachable. In fact, I'd drop anything just to take a call from you.

Please also remember that as you always compare yourself to me and others that you are fantastic all your own. People view you differently then you view yourself and I know that because I am one of them and I have heard it from many. The people that know you know what I am talking about. A young woman of little words, but big feelings. You will do anything for anyone you care about and to be honest most of the time people who don’t mean as much. Mom taught us how to be a good friend to others, even if they weren’t to us. Well, you have been a great friend and I can only hope that I am one back. While I may be the first to pave the path for you, we walk together to make it lasting road.

Before I start to cry, I need to tell you that this letter wasn't meant to be sad. In fact, it was my way of trying to write down all of my feelings rather than bottling them up until that last hug goodbye. I can't wait for more 'you and me' days. I can't wait for you to Facetime me needing help studying for your English vocab quizzes. I already can't wait for my next break, just because I know how much I will miss you and how happy I will be to see you. With this last note, I just want to tell you that you mean the world to me. I am so proud and honored to call you my sister and I am beyond thankful for the impact you have made on my life. Thank you for being you and for giving me the incredible relationship that we have because it is so special. We may be sisters but we don’t have to be friends and I am forever grateful for both.I love you so much.

Love always,

Your BIG sister