Dear baby sister, I hope that you're reading this and I hope that you know that I mean every word from the bottom of my heart. I love you.

1. I hope that you learn to love yourself

I frequently hear you make negative comments about almost aspect of yourself. Sometimes you're joking, but I know sometimes you're not. Those negative comments break my heart because I hate hearing you being so hard on yourself. One of my wishes for you, as your older sibling, is that you learn to love yourself earlier than I did. That means not being so hard on yourself over tiny things and seeing all the wonderful stuff that you have to offer. Be gentle with yourself. It is so empowering once you learn to love yourself.

2. I will always have your back

Read this one closely. I DON'T care what you did, I DON'T care where you are, I DON'T care what time it is, I will ALWAYS have your back. I am always just a text, phone call, or FaceTime away, and I will do my best to be there and be as supportive as I can for you. I don't care if you've told everyone else or if you're only telling me; I'm always here to listen. I will love you no matter what is going on in your life.

3. I will never think any boy is good enough for you

Whenever you bring a boy around, I'm sorry, but I'm probably going to judge everything about him, because compared to you, he will probably never match up to the level of greatness that I think you are. I know it can be kind of annoying, and I might be overly judgmental, but I honestly can't help you. You are my baby sister after all.

4. You are so much better than you think you are

You are easily the smartest, sweetest, funniest, and most caring girl that I know. I wish that you could see yourself the way that I see you. Even though you're younger than me, these qualities tend to continue to inspire me every day. You have made me a better older sibling. Quite honestly, you're too hard on yourself. And I promise, I'm not the only one that thinks this. You are so wonderful in each and every way. Never doubt that.

5. I will always love you, no matter how much you irritate me

I really try at this one! Just kidding; it's pretty easy to love you. Yeah, sometimes you annoy me to no end, and I get frustrated with you, but that's never caused me to stop loving you. Besides, I know that I always annoy you to no end as well. I'm pretty sure that there is nothing that you could do to make me stop loving you.

6. I am incredibly proud to be your older sibling

This one pretty much speaks for itself. I am so blessed to have a little sister like you in my life. No one will ever have the bond that we do. With every day that passes and with everything you do in life, I grow prouder and prouder. I will always be your #1 fan.

(sorry, not sorry for using this really old picture)