Most people know their siblings from the day they are born. They grow up alongside them, go through highs and lows together, possibly share a room, and ultimately are very involved with their lives. With one of my siblings, that's not the case. I only found and made contact with my older sister, Maegan, just over a year ago.
My curiosity started around 7th grade when I was going through school registration papers to make sure everything was in line before turning them in. I was flipping through the pages and, thankfully, the portion that listed my siblings caught my eye. I had seen a name that I was unfamiliar with; Maegan's name.
My parents had always mentioned her name every now and then but nothing was ever made specifically clear that she was, in fact, my sister. Seeing her name sparked so many questions about who she was, where she was currently, and if I would ever get to meet her.
From that day on, I started thinking about her every day. I wanted to know if she was a good person, what kind of music she listened to, and if she even knew who I was. Every now and then, usually when I was feeling extra curious, I would Google her name to see if anything would come up. I looked for Facebook profiles, Instagram, Twitter accounts, or anything else linked to her name. Finally, one December night of my junior year in high school, I hit the jackpot.
I found her Facebook account. I was taking in the image of her face in her profile picture and instantly knew that we were, without a doubt, related. We had the same facial structure, dark brown eyes, and mouth shape. After talking to my mom and consulting back and forth, I crafted a Facebook message to send her way in hopes that she was who I hoped she was
Her following message was everything I could have wished it could be. She confirmed that she was actually my sister. She confirmed our father's full name, confirmed my mother's name, and also expressed that she had been searching for me for years. I was up until the wee hours of the morning talking to her over Facebook messenger, sharing this joyous moment with my mom, and eventually talking to her over the phone.
It was crazy.
Her voice patterns were the same as mine and made small incoherent noises when she couldn't find the words to say; Just like I do. As I talked to her and briefly learned about her childhood, interests, favorite colors and foods, I was overwhelmed in the best way possible.
As months went on and as our connection got stronger, the idea of meeting in person started to arise. My parents were skeptical at first but then made arrangements with Maegan to have our dad and I fly out to Las Vegas, where she was currently living and going to school, and finally meet each other.
Everything that happened on my trip to Vegas, from the flight there to the flight back to Milwaukee, is still fresh in my mind. The moments leading up to meeting my sister were the craziest of my life. I was feeling so many emotions, had so many thoughts and irrational situations that could possibly play out, and I can honestly say that I didn't know what to expect.
As my father and I sat in a restaurant and waited for Maegan to meet us, I couldn't stop moving. My head was constantly looking around, my foot was bouncing like crazy, and I was drumming my fingers on the table like a madman.
I saw her walk in and knew exactly who she was. Everything from that point on was bliss. Conversation flowed with close to no awkward pauses, many laughs were shared, and I finally got to know who my older sister really was.
Seeing her in person for the first time was crazy because I noticed that a lot of our mannerisms were very similar even though we had grown up living very separate lives. The rest of the trip was spent wandering down the Vegas strip, visiting the Hoover Dam, and creating our first memories together.
From that point forward, Maegan and I's relationship has done nothing but blossom. She has made multiple visits out to Wisconsin to spend time with the rest of our family and continue to build relationships with them. I am so beyond happy that I made the decision to take a leap of faith and send her that Facebook message a year and a half ago.
If I hadn't, I would've missed out on an amazing experience, an amazing story to tell, but most importantly, an amazing person that I am lucky enough to call my sister.
