As I was sitting watching our men's tennis team kick Notre Dame's butt, my phone started to ring. My little sister’s contact picture popped up on my phone as an incoming FaceTime call rang in my ears. I picked up, sliding the answer button to the right as I got up to walk outside. “The decisions are in! The decisions are in!” she said. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill decisions. The single only day I have been waiting for since I got my own decision two years ago. She nervously laughed, as she always does, waiting for the screen to load. I felt like my world slowed down a little as three words came jumping from her mouth… I. got. In. It’s hard to describe the pride I felt; there is no way to explain how it makes you feel to watch someone grow, every single day, from the moment they were born, into someone so amazing. For years, I worked at everything just a little bit harder than I would have because I knew I had to set an example for her, because who else would? That was my job as her big sister. But, after almost seventeen years, I think I set an example too well.
I could go on and on about how unbelievably amazing my littler sister is, but this letter is less about her strengths and more about how she should use them. Let’s be honest, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is not the best school that my sister applied to. Her grades, her ACT scores, her extracurricular activities, her leadership potential… she excels far greater than me in each of those categories and gosh, I could not be prouder. But, this means that she would excel at nearly any school, not just Chapel Hill. As her best friend, I selfishly wish she would come to Chapel Hill and spend these next two years with me having the absolute time of our lives. But, as her sister, I wish more than anything that she goes to the college that will help her to become the best she can be - whether or not that college is Chapel Hill. This letter is a way for me to tell her as best as I can that as much as I cherish our friendship, I will always be her sister first.
This is really just an open letter to tell the little girl I watched blossom into someone who has a million opportunities that she could go to college half way around the world and I would still love her more than anything. So, as she makes this decision, I want her to remember one thing... "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.."
