To my beautiful niece,
Do you know how much you have impacted my life? Do you know how much you have changed me? I remember when I was in middle school and all of my friends seemed to have older siblings with children, which made them aunts and uncles. I remember thinking that would never be me (even though I wanted it to be!) because my older sibling was only two years my senior. Do you know how much of a surprise you were? You were an unexpected surprise, but the greatest blessing in disguise. To this day, you are still the most precious person I have had the chance to know.
You are 2 years old now, and it amazes me at how much you have grown. Your vocabulary is developing and even becoming better than mine at times. Two thumbs up! Your voice is developing, but most importantly, you are developing. You are growing up and before long, you won't be a baby anymore. It sucks that I'm missing out on what I consider "important moments" in your life. College has created a huge distance between us. It brings me to tears (but a smile appears at the same time) when I am informed that you have asked for me while I am gone. For all of the times when you were sad and crying and all you wanted was your aunt for comfort but I wasn't there, I apologize. But you want to know something? I'm away at college and working toward becoming a better version of myself. I am becoming better for myself, for the people around me, and especially for you. I want to be someone that you can be proud of—I want to be the aunt that you can be proud of. I'm missing out on some great moments now, but we'll create greater moments in the future. I will be around to take you on lunch dates, share my wisdom, and navigate through this journey known as life with you. I promise it will be awesome!
Thank you so much for giving me a greater outlook on the world. Thank you for proving to me that I will be an amazing mother someday. And yes, I promise that I will still love you the same even when I've had my own children. Thank you for showing me the value of patience. Who knew that patience actually is a virtue? Most importantly, thank you for being my best friend, reminding me to keep a child's innocence, and igniting the love in our family once more. You are the most precious person in the world, and you don't even know it. I love you!
With all the love in the universe,
Your aunt
