Anyone who has a sister knows that it is one of the best things in the world. However, as everything does, it comes with its ups and downs. I’m lucky to have a sister two years younger than me. When we were younger, we argued a lot, always wanting to be right, like most siblings do. Now that I’m 20 and she’s 18, we seem to get along more than we fight.

I think the special thing about having a sister is how I didn’t realize she was my best friend, but it’s true. All my life, my close friends I would always say, “oh, her and I are like sisters”. In reality, I was comparing them to the relationship I had with my sister. I love my friends, and I am very close with my best friends, but there is a bond I have with my sister that I can’t find with anyone else.

We were always close. My mom would sign us up for the same things, so really we couldn’t do one thing without each other. Gymnastics, dance, soccer, piano, etc. So, in a way, even though we weren’t twins, we felt like twins. Our lives were constantly busy with rehearsals, practices, and studying that neither of us really had that much of a social life. We had friends of course but could never really hang out with people outside of school because of our schedules. So, we had each other.

As kids, we never really spent that much time apart or away from home. If we did, it was only a week here or there once a year for camp or something. So, after 18 years, moving down to North Carolina was a transition for her and I. Being away from her for months at a time was hard for me, especially knowing that she and I were the only ones that could relate to each other in certain situations.

Yes, she could tell me what was going on, and I could understand what she was going through over a phone call or text. But there is something different about being able to have that conversation in person with someone you are close to that makes it so much better.

As she grew up, she went through more of a rebellious stage than I did. I get it, all teens go through an “it’s not a phase, Mom” stage, but trust me, hers was a phase. During that stage, I lost sight of the good, warm-hearted, person she is. When I would be home, I would see how she was acting up, and when I tried to offer some kind of wisdom, she would always come back with, “well, I wasn’t the one who left the family.”

While I knew she was going through other things that were influencing her behavior, I did feel like I contributed to it by leaving to go off to school. I don’t call home enough, and if there was one thing I could change, it would be showing my family and sister how much they mean to me. Even though I do constantly think about my family, they don’t know that so I do need to work on staying in touch.

It was a wake-up call when I heard my sister say that I couldn’t relate to what she was going through at home because I left her. I would never abandon her, and I felt so terrible that I made her feel like I had just forgotten about her after 18 years. I didn’t realize the impact I had on her. I love her so so much, and I am so lucky that I have a person in my life like her that allows me to feel loved and important all the time.

My sister is my best friend because even if we go weeks without talking, I know that I can always send her a text or Snapchat and she will respond. It’s not fair to her when I lose touch for long periods of time because I want her to always know how much I love her. She has given me the opportunity to be a better person because I want to be a role model and big sister that she looks up to.

In reality, she has been a role model to me, as I go to her for help because she is so wise and much more practical than me. She works so hard and has this sense of care and selflessness that I admire so much. Her sense of independence impresses me every time I see her, and I can not wait to see everything she does because the world is truly hers.

I am so lucky to call such an incredible person my best friend and sister. As a matter of fact, the whole time I was writing this article, her feet were laying on top of my laptop keyboard while we watched “The Office."