Dear Little Sis,

Lately I've been feeling like I don't express to you how much I love you quite enough. I always knew we were close, and you've always been my best friend, but living at home without you for the first time since you were born has made me realize just how lucky I am to have you.

You may be my younger sister, but I look up to you in so many ways. Your strength and determination are admirable. It takes a certain kind of person to have the dedication to not only go to school to be a nurse, but to go and kick butt doing it. I know it's hard, and I know you're struggling and worrying about what will come next, but if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that you're going to get through this with your head held high. I continue to watch you push yourself through things that I, and most other people, would have given up on a long time ago.

Nursing school is hard enough, but you continue to go above and beyond and get yourself involved in so many extracurriculars at school that will only brighten your future. You are so much stronger than you believe and you should be so incredibly proud of yourself. You never settle for "good enough" because you know that you are worth more than that. That is something that I continue to work on every day and having you in more corner means more to me than you will ever know.

Something else I've always admired about you is how big your heart is. I've never met someone so kind, considerate, and passionate about what is right. Not to mention you always give the best and most heartfelt gifts, hands down. You know exactly what to say to a person when they're down, and you always give without expecting a single thing in return.

I think one of the only things that frustrates me about you is that you don't know how to give yourself a break. Take a step back and acknowledge how much you have accomplished and how much you continue to accomplish every day. Stop looking at what else you could do and look at all that you've done. Be proud of yourself, it's a great feeling that you deserve to have. You're going places, kid, there's not a doubt in my mind that says otherwise.

I think everyone who knows us would agree that it's safe to say that in most cases we're polar opposites. But I think some of my favorite things about you are things that I don't see in myself. Thank you for pushing me to be better every day. You're the yin to my yang, sis, and I wouldn't be me without you. I'm not sure how some people make it through life without a sister, but I'm so glad I never have to find out.