I became an aunt at 16, and back then I truly thought that was just a title and nothing more. Two and a half years later, I have learned that being an aunt is the most amazing thing in the world and also one of the hardest (especially when you move away to college).
Being an aunt means a lot of things to a lot of people; but here's what it is to me:
Being a best friend and support system.
My nephew is only two years old, but he is the best friend that I have ever had. He makes me laugh when I have had the worst day, and on those days I'll hear him say "luh you", and all of the sudden all of the old problems I was just having seem so irrelevant and small. Having him around truly makes me feel like I have the world in my hands. While he may not need a support system yet, I am the "yes" when his mom says "absolutely no" to the chocolate bar that I bought at the grocery store. Many would say I am bribing him for his love with chocolate bars, and I am, but also that's my way of letting him know that I have his back before he could even understand what that really means.
Finally realizing that everything I do in life matters.
Before he came along, my life revolved around my self, honestly. Every mistake I made only effected me and every time I passed up an opportunity to make myself better, oh well. But now, every mistake I make is something that my nephew you will end up hearing about someday. I never want him to hear something that I have done and question why he would ever look up to me, so I have to think about how will this look to him when he's 14 and hears about what I was doing during my teenage years. I am striving to make something good and better of myself, for him to say "If my Aunt could do it, so can I". I want him to push himself to his maximum ability and know that I did the exact same thing. Most importantly, I want him to know that he can make it through the bad days. When he's older and just really feels like life is too much at that moment, I want to look at him and tell him, "I made it out alive, I gave my all every single day, and you will be okay at the end of this" and he will know that I actually mean that.
Coolest of all, getting to act like a child and blaming my nephew.
Having a two-year-old nephew gives me excuses to go to the zoo, science center, park, watching my old child hood TV shows, and I don't have to act like the 19-year-old that I am all of the time. Thanks, B, for giving me a break from adulthood every now and then, without you I would be boring and stressed out 100% of the time.
