Hey bro,

It's me-- your #1 cuz. I know your're super busy with your AP classes and working tremendously hard to finish your senior year strong, but if you've got a sec, I just wanted to say thanks.

I wanted to say thanks for being more than just a cousin. I wanted to thank you for being a sister. Someone who I have experienced this crazy life with since I was 2 years old. Even though we live 500 miles away, we've always been close.

I remember how our friendship really started. It was over a little computer game called Webkinz. We used to hop on the landline after school to go to the "computer room" to play Webkinz (which, I think, is the most old-fashioned sentence I've ever written). We would play for hours on end until one of our parents finally told us it was time to wrap things up.

Even when we were really young, you were always there for me. I remember one time I was really sick with H1N1, and could barely move. You stayed on the landline with me for over eight hours because I literally had nothing else to do except talk on the phone. I don't remember what we talked about, but I remember you didn't leave, no matter how bored you must have been.

I remember our vacations in the summertime. We would jump the waves in the ocean, swim carelessly in the pool and walk the beach, talking about who-knows-what. I remember one time I got swallowed by a wave and nearly drowned. You pulled me up, and I was completely fine. Thanks for that, especially.

We've had our fights, of course. But that's what people who love each other do, they fight. The fights were always stupid, and maybe we wouldn't talk for awhile, but we always, always worked things out. When we wouldn't text, things just didn't feel right. We always made up because that's what sisters do.

Then, we started to grow up. We dreamed of the days when we could drive and do whatever we wanted without asking for permission. We dreamed of graduating and visiting each other in college. And now, we've got it. Well, some of it.

I'm in my own apartment at UD with a driver's license, and you're a year away from graduating. I know you'll probably go to some ivy league far away, and I can't wait to visit and get all the school swag, just as you did at UD.

I'm working to be a journalist and you're going to be a top-notch scientist. Despite both of our struggles, we're both going to be okay. We're finding our way just as we thought we would, and our friendship has stayed just as strong as it was when we were two elementary school kids playing Webkinz.

The great thing about now is that we've still got so much of our dream to live out. We've already asked each other to be the maid of honor at our weddings. We'll get jobs, get married, have families. The best is yet to come. As scary and overwhelming as the future can be, we know we'll go through it with a lot of laughter, late-night Facetime sessions, and inside jokes that no one gets except us.

So, Micah, the bottom-line is you are a winner. I am so glad that you are my cousin, and I can't wait to see you grow up to be the awesome woman I already know you are. I'll always be here for you, man.

Love,

Grace (your bro)