For as long as I can remember, it has been my job to be the annoying little sister. I did the typical little sister things: I bothered her and her friends, I disagreed with her just to get a rise out of her, and I used all of her things without asking.
To say the least, I was a complete hellion to my sister, Marley.
These crazy antics of mine continued through elementary school and into middle school until she went off to college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
What was I going to do with myself? I no longer had someone to constantly annoy nor was I going to be able to borrow things "without giving them back.”
But most importantly, I no longer had her there to laugh with, watch movies with, or someone to seek advice from.
Whether my sister knew it or not, she was my role model for absolutely everything. Her clothes, her makeup, and how well she did in school. She was everything I aspired to be like.
As the years went by, I became slightly less annoying--only slightly--and all of my antics began to die down. I no longer felt like it was "my job" to be the annoying little sister.
Now that I’m in college, and she has started a new life with her husband and a new job, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve grown incredibly close.
Marley is the first person I tell things about my life, the person I go to for advice, the one I can call when something hilarious happens on Tru TV’s “Impractical Jokers,” or someone to just catch up with on what has been going on in each other's lives.
On November 11, 2017, I gave a speech at Marley’s wedding where I stated: “I care about my sister more than anyone else here today and, being the little sister I am, I will protect her in every way that I can…” That remains true every day.
No matter the circumstances, I would drop everything to help my sister. She may live all the way down in Florida, but I would book the fastest plane to get me down there if she needed me.
We may fight with our siblings and do dumb things just to annoy them, but we will always have their back and grow closer as the years go by.
Simply put, we went from being rivals to best friends.
And to my sister: thank you for being you and for allowing me to grow up with such an amazing role model in my life. I don’t know where I would be without you.
