She’s a dreamer. A doer. A thinker. She sees possibility everywhere. You are all these things and I am beyond grateful that I have been around to watch you grow into the person you are today.

Dear Little Sister,

Although you may not be so little anymore, you will always be little to me. I will always stand up for you and be in your corner. I will be there for you, even if were are fighting. There is nothing you could ever do to steer me away from you.

You have a huge heart, even if you don’t show it too often. You are good at hiding away most feelings, but I want to let you know that you can always open up to me. I never want to see you hurt.

I always want to see you recreating the definition of beautiful and kind to fit you. Find what makes you happy and what you love because people are the most beautiful doing what they love. Don’t let what others think and believe stop you from doing what you love.

You are a beautiful soul, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It truly doesn’t matter what other people think about you, as long as you know inside that you are truly amazing. I don’t want to have to watch you ever get torn down for things that you see as flaws. Those so-called "flaws” are what make you unique.

You are the kind of person that when you walk into the room, everyone’s face lights up. And when you talk and joke, people could laugh for hours. You are so brave and outgoing. I am honestly a little jealous of this trait of yours.

You have no problem fitting in and making friends. But if you do, those who you have trouble with are not worth your time. If a person isn’t willing to put in as much effort and love into a friendship, please don’t keep them in your life. You never deserve any negativity in your life.

If I could shelter you from the hateful parts of life, I would. I would take every bad day of yours and trade you several more of my best days just to make sure you are okay. You are worth more than what any negative person or thing says. Ignore the negativity.

Now here’s what I really want you to know.

• No person is worth your happiness and well-being. You need to be able to stand on your own two feet without them.
• Remember that I am here for you and will support you no matter what.
• Travel the world and explore every possible place you can.
• No matter how often we fight, I still love you.
• You have a beautiful soul and you have touched so many people’s lives. This is something you should be proud of that.
• You can honestly do anything you want, within reason—so, like, no cliff diving or scary things like that because you’re accident prone, but almost anything else in life. Do it.
• Love yourself before you love anyone else. I cannot stress this enough.
• Take as much time as you want to find what you love. Once you find what you love, try to make it your calling in life. (This is easier said than done—trust me, I know. But I believe that you and I will both find what we love.)
• Just be yourself and the people who are meant to be in your life will be there. No friendship should ever be forced.

Finally, I want to thank you for the years of an amazing friendship called sisterhood, which you have provided to me. Also, I want to thank you for our common obsession of "One Tree Hill." I love you to the moon and back. I love you to Eau Claire and back. It doesn’t matter the distance, I will love you from wherever and back.

So go forth and conquer the world. I know you will be amazing.

Love,

Your Big Sister