Dear little siblings,

One of you is 18, one of you is 14, and one of you is 11. Apparently you are not as little as I like to believe you all are. I don't know when you all suddenly grew up, but I love you nevertheless. Being your big sister has been such a rollercoaster, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I am so incredibly lucky to have been blessed with biological best friends since the day each of you were born.

I'm not entirely sure where to start, as there is just so much to say. You have all inspired me so so much, and for that I am forever grateful. I wish you all the happiness in the world, and I cannot wait to see where this crazy thing called life takes you.

Tristan, I wish for you all the success and confidence a person can have. I want you to make the best decisions, I want you to have fun, and I want you to be the best man, brother, boyfriend, and son you can be. You are smarter than you think, and you are braver than you think. You have done such an incredible job so far in life, and I know you will only continue to do amazing things. There have been ups and there have been downs, but you continue to flourish and grow into an amazing young man. Sometimes we butt heads, and I am still trying to figure out how to communicate with you. I don't know whether I should be sneaking you alcohol and encouraging you to go to parties, or if I should lecture you about underage drinking and try to keep you as my little brother for as long as possible. You are officially an adult, but let's be honest, you will forever be my little brother. I will forever be your absolute biggest fan and I will always be the first person to tell you. Please don't forget that. My advice to you is this: please do not give up on yourself, you have so much potential and I hope you will soon see this.

Kaylen, you are the most caring, sweetest, most precious little 14 year old man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. As you start your high school education, I hope you recognize just how intelligent you are. You are just so smart, and I want you to succeed in every single thing you do. I know for a fact, you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to, and I hope you will do just that. Not only are you one of the smartest people I know, you are the most well rounded individual to exist on this earth. I want you to set the highest of standards, I want you to enjoy life, and I want you to be the best version of yourself at all times. No matter what gets thrown your way, you have always been able to succeed. Some days I wonder how you have become so wise in only 14 years, you are wise beyond your years, and I hope you never lose that. I will always be there, no matter the time or how far we are, I will be there for what ever you may need. I will forever be your biggest fan and I will never stop telling you. My advice to you is this: please look ahead to the future, realize your biggest dreams, and realize that you can most definitely achieve every single one of them.

Skylynn, you have a heart of gold and inspire me to be the best role model I can be for you. As you grow up, I can only hope that you see all the potential in yourself that I see in you. You have accomplished so much in your short life, and I can only hope that you continue to follow your dreams. I hope you dream of the biggest dreams possible, and I know you can succeed in anything you put your mind to. You have experienced such highs and such lows in a short time, and you continue to inspire me to stay strong and live my best life. From the day you were born, I not only knew that I had the best little sister I could ever ask for, I knew I had a forever best friend. I want you to make smart decisions, I want you to enjoy life, and I want you to follow your own path. Be a leader, lead the pack, and set examples for everyone you know. As you reach 12 years old, I want to remind you about the things I had to deal with at your age. Girls will be girls, and by that I mean, girls will be mean. Sometimes, girls are more mean that you would have thought, but do not take it to heart. There are always going to be people that are jealous of you, they will be the first ones to attack you. Keep your head high, ignore them, and be humble. Remember that you are not 20 years old yet, do not take advance of the opportunities and helping hands that you get right now. My advice to you is this: keep your head high, be a leader, and know your worth. I know you will conquer everything life throws your way.

Each of you have something so special about you. You are all unique in your own ways, but all the same in ways. You are all such amazing human beings and I am forever grateful to be able to watch you all grow up into the best versions of yourselves. I will always be your biggest fans, your best of friends, your biggest cheerleader, and your older sister. I hope if you ever read this, you see that you all mean the most to me, and being away for University has taught me so much about myself that I cannot wait to share with all of you. I will always cherish the days when I come home to visit you all, and see your smiling faces as I pull in the driveway. I will always cherish the nights where we sit around and play board games until midnight, or play cards until we fall asleep. I recognize that we are far apart in distance, but the bond we share between the 4 of us will always keep us close. I want you all to recognize your dreams, and do absolutely everything it takes to accomplish them. The 3 of you are my biggest inspiration and I hope to make you proud with all that I do. I love you all so much more than you will ever know.

Thank you for making me the most proud big sister I could be. I love you all.

xoxo, Autumn.