Dear Rachel,

Well, here we are. At a time neither of us ever thought would come. If we had a predetermined idea of what college would be like for the both of us, I don’t think it would’ve included you living miles away from home for the next four years. Before you know it, the rest of your time here at home will have flown by and you’ll be all in New Hampshire, far, far away from me, Mom, and Dad. And I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss you. I know I always say I’m not going to and that I can’t wait to have my own room after eighteen years, but I don’t really mean it. I’m going to miss you like crazy when you're gone.

There are going to be so many times when I think of something hilarious that only you will find funny and I won’t be able to immediately share it with you. When we’re stuck in awkward situations, I won’t be able to turn to you and make one of our inside jokes. There's so much more I won’t be able to do when you’re gone and it makes me sad thinking about it. It's going to really suck not having you there when I turn twenty-one. I know I've told you I'm going to pick you up for the awesome weekend that'll ensue, but it won't exactly be the same without you there on the actual day. There'll be a lot of things which will happen to you that you'll wanna share with me right away, but maybe by the time we get in touch you'll forget to even mention it. Though I am excited for you to officially start your career as a nurse, I can’t help thinking you’re going to be ninety-three miles away: yes, I Googled it. Our entire lives we've been together. I can't really think of a time when we were apart for extremely long periods of time—except when you went to that science camp last year for a whole week. While we shared a room, we shared countless memories. It's going to be so lonely when you leave. I'll have that little room all to myself, but it's going to feel so big without you in it.

All siblings fight: it's just what we do. And everybody calls it "sibling love”, saying we'll become best friends when we get older. Well, they were right. Mom still tells us the amazing story of when I first met you right after you were born on July 26, 1999. I walked in with our Grandma, looked down at you, and glanced back up to her, saying, "Okay, Grammy, I've seen enough. You can take me home now." I think that's probably the funniest story we still share to this day. Who could've predicted that even with all our fighting—and our occasional fights today—we would become so close. We have become each other's confidants. We tell each other things our parents don't know and we swear each other to secrecy. Though we never believed everyone when we were younger, we truly have grown up a lot and have learned we will always be each other's best friend.

Even though this all might sound a little depressing, try to remember you’re going off to college. College! You’re moving on to a new and exciting chapter of your life. You’re all grown up now and you’ll be able to experience what life is like when you’re on your own. You always say you can’t wait to move out and, well, now you are. I know you’re nervous but you should also be excited. You’ll be leaving the nest in a week and you’ll finally be on your own. It’s slightly terrifying to think you won’t have Mom and Dad in the next room to talk to about something, but it's bound to teach you a lot about yourself. You’ll have a lot of time to spend alone with your thoughts and that will help you grow. You’ll have to learn to listen to yourself and you’ll have to make those big grown-up decisions on your own. Of course, when things seem a little too overwhelming, Mom, Dad, and I are only a phone call away.

So, before this gets too preachy or before I start blubbering, I'm gonna start wrapping this up. Yes, you're going to be gone, but that doesn't mean you won't be visiting us every chance you get. You'll be home for the first day of football season. We'll make the long trek to pick you up for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's. So even though you'll be gone for the majority of the year, there will be plenty of reasons for you to hop on that train or to coerce us enough to make the drive. And you know I'll drive on up there to spend a weekend and see what this amazing cafeteria has to offer and what all the hype is about. We'll be apart, Rachel, but not for very long. I promise.

I'm going to miss you so much and I love you to the moon and back.

Your Awesome Big Sister, Michelle.