Growing up in a family as large as mine, I had the immense blessing of forming deep and meaningful relationships with a seemingly endless stream of cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, distant third-cousins, but one person has always stood out as the best...my best friend sister. This is the one who is close to your age, the one who everyone asked if you were twins, the one whose clothes you stole, makeup you begged for, advice you never asked for, but secretly appreciated. So here's to you, best friend sister. Listen up, you Queen of Disaster.

I want to thank you for twenty-some years of making it impossible for me to keep real friends; the bar you set was far too high. Growing up, I felt overshadowed by you: tall, funny, beautiful, intelligent, hardworking. I distinctly remember you needing glasses, I wanted them because they made you look so much smarter than me. You got braces, I wanted them too: why does she get to have beautiful straight teeth? As teenagers, you got to dye your hair purple, but I was still "too young" for it...like 13 months makes a difference. Know what I learned from that? Hair dye washes really fast, teenagers don't have the money to keep that up...thanks sis.

As we grew up, life continued to happen, everything was changing, but you stayed the same. You were there through my first boyfriend, the first time I said I was "in love", my first heartbreak. You were there to sit up with me while I cried over my high school finals. You were there for me the whole time we went through our biggest family crisis. When I got into college, you were the first one to tell me how proud you were of me.

Once I got into college, you were the first person I called when things went south. Anytime my heart broke, when boys never called me, when parties turned bad when I made poor choices, you were the one I called. I picked up the phone, fully expecting to be greeted with judgment; you always greeted me with understanding and attention. Let's be real, I got my fair share of tough love from you. That's one of the things I appreciate the most about you; how bold you are.

But here's the thing, your bold nature helped to teach me how to be strong. That's you, the hard worker, the go-getter, the jetsetter, the beauty queen. Now, because of your influence, along with the influence of many others, I am the person that I am. You are one of the most encouraging forces in my life: to get my degree, to connect with God, to make the choices that are best for me, for my future, for my family.

Thank you for letting me steal your clothes, for doing my makeup when I have somewhere nice to go, for buying me my first drink, for keeping my secrets, for drying my tears, for sympathizing when our parents "don't get it", for sharing life with me. Thank you for making it hard for me to have friends sometimes...guess you knew you'd do the best job. I am so thankful for you; I love you, thanks for never letting me be alone.