To my little sister,
I don't even know if it is acceptable for me to call you a little sister anymore. You have grown up so much in the past few years that people who haven't seen you in a long time would probably have a hard time recognizing you. I can't believe the amount of change that you have faced and conquered in the last few years. You are becoming a wonderful young lady, and you are becoming everything God has planned for you to be. I am so proud of the woman you have become.
As you start to approach your senior year, you are going to be faced with some life-changing decisions. Where to go to school? What will you study when you get there? Who will you meet? All of the answers to these questions lie in your near future, and you know they are coming soon.
Making a decision that impacts the rest of your life seems like a huge deal (and it is), but I know you will make the right choice. I know you will follow the guidance of our God through prayer and through devotions. However, don't let your future consume your life. You have to live for the present, because your future isn't going to happen until you, the star player, arrive to it. Don't go through your senior year of high school focused on what is going to happen after you graduate. Live for your senior year football games, homecoming, prom, even random field days because you can't get those back. I wish that I would've lived more "in the moment" my senior year, instead of being so extremely focused on college that I couldn't think about anything else. Live for the present, and you won't miss out on anything.
As your big sister, I feel obligated to give advice (like I just did), but that is what makes me "wiser" in your eyes. You are the reason I take in everything I do. You are the reason I document in the back of my mind every obstacle I cross and every feeling I have ever felt. I want to pass down my feelings and thoughts and struggles to you; I want to be able to explain everything I have ever done and why to you in hopes you learn from my mistakes, as well as my successes.
You are what makes me a better person. You are what makes me strive to be someone more and someone better than I am right now. You push me more than anyone else does, and you do it without even realizing it. Even when I was younger my thought process would consist of, "What will my sister think if I do this? Will my sister think I am a success or a failure?" These questions are in the back of my mind when I am thinking out a situation. You are my inspiration and the reason I push myself. For that, I thank you.
Thank you for being you. I am so proud of you. Proud of you as my sister as well as my best friend.
I love you.
