When I was younger, I used to bully my sister mercilessly. I would make her do things for me like get me a drink while I was watching TV or I would fight with her until she cried. It was so bad that my aunt actually sent me a care package with a long letter, books and some other things on how to get along with my siblings. But you wouldn't guess that from our relationship now.
My little sister is now almost 14 and heading for her freshman year of high school. We go shopping together, spend evenings practicing makeup together and build forts with chairs and blankets to watch scary movies late at night during the summers. We go for bike rides and when I'm at school, I FaceTime her multiple times a week. We talk every single day.
10 years ago, I didn't think I would ever be close to my sister. Now, I can't even go a day without talking to her. As she heads into high school, I hope there are a few things she knows and has learned through the things I have taught her.
I hope that she can be the confident, outspoken freshman that I never was. I hope she stands up to the people who have the nerve to bully her the way I was bullied. I hope she cherishes every moment of her homecoming football games and dances because even though they are not the high points of life like I thought they once were, they are fun memories you can never forget.
I hope she realizes to work hard on her schoolwork before it's too late and doesn't have to play catch up as I did. I hope her friends invite her to dozens of sleepovers and they spend hours talking and laughing over nothing. But most of all, I hope she knows she will always have her big sister regardless of what happens.
10 years ago, I could've cared less about being friends with her, giving her advice or being there for her at all. Now, I don't know what I would do without her.
