I remember sitting in the hospital waiting for you to enter the world and being so excited to meet my new little brother, and now you just drove my car and I'm wondering when the heck you grew up. And now I'm back sitting in my apartment after spending the weekend with you and I'm in awe of you and who you are becoming.

They always say nothing compares to a girls bond with her little brother, but I laugh at that understatement. When I think of you and our bond, I can't help but smile because you truly are my best friend. When I'm having a hard time in my personal life I know that I can visit you at our parents and a simple hug from you can make it better. You have something about you that always makes me feel safe and lets me know that you will always have my back. I know that if I come home for the weekend and steal your clothes, you'll laugh. If I miss your call, I'll have multiple voicemails that will have me laughing so hard tears will run down my face. And I know that if I ever called and said I needed you, you would be there as fast as you could.

But I also know that no matter how many times I tell you what you mean to me, I will never be able to put it all into words because there simply aren't enough words for it. So here in this letter, I'm going to try to explain to you why I love you so much.

You are so intelligent. Every time I get the chance to talk to you, I am taken back because I just can't believe how smart you truly are. You'll be going off on some tangent about something you learned in history class and why the military of a specific country used a certain tactic and how it resulted in a victory and I just sit there hanging on every word because it's something that I never knew. Then in return, you let me rant and rave about whatever I've been learning in college and even when you don't care about what I'm saying, you'll listen to every word and even ask me questions to hear more. You and I can talk for hours about different topics and never run out of things to say.

You don't change for anyone. Even when it's what the "cool kids" are doing, if you don't think it's right, you won't do it. Your older siblings, we've even teased you for not disobeying mom and dad and you still don't cave. You have never been one to change who you are for anything or anyone. You believe that God made you in his image so why would you change his plan.

You are kind. I like to believe I am a pretty kind person, but I also know that I have a horrible temper and can be mean when I'm angry; but not you. You are undoubtedly the kindest person I know regardless of the situation. Even when you have been bullied by others in the past, you never stooped to their level. You have always stood your ground and remained kind to others even when they have been unkind to you. And to top it off, you go out of your way to help those in need. You see everything around you and can see when people need a friend, and that's when you come in. You make everyone around you feel cared about and like they matter in the world. Your kind heart makes people gravitate toward you.

You are genuine. In this day and age, it's rare to find genuine people, let alone a genuinely good person. But that's you. You have such a pure soul that I still can't figure out how you've managed to keep that. We see other people your age already getting into trouble and you have no interest in any of it. You don't see the point in dating yet even though most of your friends are getting girlfriends because "what's the point if mom has to drive me around?" You are honest, kind, and loyal and I hope the world never takes that from you.

I could go on and on about what you mean to me and why I am so thankful to have you as my little brother, but I'm going to end it with this. You make me so damn proud to call you my little brother. I know mom and all of our family member's will read this so I apologize for the word choice. But I'm saying it anyway because it adds emphasis to my point. As I've already said, you are the most loyal, kind, and genuinely good person I know. I truly do not know anyone with a more honest and pure heart than you. You always have my back and support me, but you also call me out when I'm being an idiot. You understand and get me in a way that no one else does, and the reality is no one ever will. You know that one minute I can be running around, screaming at the top of my lungs, full of pure joy and only a few minutes later I can't get myself up because my depression is so bad. But you never judge me for that, instead, you go through all of it with me. If I'm being crazy, you'll try to be louder and dance even craizer than I am and if I'm sad, you'll grab a blanket and sit close to me on the couch and let me cry it out even if I'm not ready to talk. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for everything you've ever done for me.

Thank you for everything that you are and everything you will become.

Thank you for being the best person I know.

You may be my little brother, but I want you to know that I look up to you, (quite literally since you are almost a foot taller than me), but for the person you are and the man I know you will become. Always stay true to yourself and nothing will ever stop you. I hope to one day make you as proud of me, as I am of you.

Thank you for being my best friend. You are my hero and I love you.

Love,

Your Big Sister