I'll never forget the ambivalent feeling I had when Mom, Dad and I dropped you off at college. I was excited to be the center of attention at home for the first time in my life. I was more than happy about not having to share a car. I was certain I wouldn't miss having to deal with our conflicting schedules of sports, work and plans with friends. However, I would take those minuscule problems any day if we could go back in time to be kids again for a little while. Just to play with our Barbies, dance around to River Dance, pretend we are the Dixie Chicks, get yelled at by Mom for wrestling in the house, bike to the park on a warm day, play with our Tamagotchis, lip-sync and dance to random songs, play every game imaginable on the trampoline, or just go back to the old cabin for one more weekend would do our childhood justice. All of these comforting memories and more flooded my mind when I gave you a tight hug and choked back tears, leaving my big sister behind on campus.

Now that I am in college as well, it has occurred to me that life will never really be the same for us. The majority of the next four years with be spent at school and ultimately away from each other. After college, we will be on our own (unless we mooch off of Mom and Dad for a while longer) and focused on creating our own path in life. Life has gone by so fast that I just want to hit pause for a little and enjoy the moments I have with you. I feel like if I close my eyes for too long, I will open them and we will have careers and our own families. I'm sure I would love what I would see, but I just want to hold on to the present for a little longer.

So, I guess I am writing about all of this to tell you that I miss you and I love you. I want you to know that I appreciate having you in my life. I thank God for giving me such a great human to look up to, growing up and to this day. I am thankful that I have hilarious and absurd memories to look back on while going forward in my life. I know that I always have you to lean on and I want you to know that you have me to lean on, too. In the future we will make more, possibly even better, memories and I look forward to what life has in store for us.