Dearest little ones,

First of all: Sorry. Sorry for all the times we couldn’t make it, sorry for anytime you were hurt, and sorry for anything we didn’t do right or just didn’t do.

We’re not perfect, but we wish we could be.

We love you, though. We love you every time you miss a class, every time you do something you regret, every time you miss home, every time you skip the gym to get pizza instead, and every time you’re worried you have no one we love you.

We’re jealous of you and all the fun things you get to experience for the first time. We’re jealous of your cute shoes, the gifts we give you, and all your adorableness.

Being a big isn’t always easy or cute, and sometimes we’re just not there to be a big. It’s not all crafting, bags of candy, and bear hugs. Sometimes we’re still littles ourselves in need some guidance, and thank you for giving us just that when we should be guiding you.

Thank you for liking our pictures, and reassuring us that that boy from that one time really was flirting even though we both know he wasn’t. Thank you for having grace with us, and not being mad when our crafts aren’t picture perfect. Thank you for sharing your pizza, Netflix password, shoes, and that necklace that just made the entire outfit better.

We’re bigs, and we know what’s out there. We know the type of guy who will hurt you, and we’ll try to send him away. We know that you need a sweater to cover up sometimes, and you can have the one we’re wearing right now. We know that you’re exhausted, and you need an A on that paper. We’ll proofread it for you even past our bedtime.

We’ve been through a lot of things, and we don’t want you to make the same mistakes. If you do, though, we know how to fix those mistakes, too.

We’ll steal your meal cards on those nights we’re desperate for dining hall chicken tenders, and we’ll compose just the right text when you’re too angry to type. We’ll show you the quadratic formula and mnemonic devices at three in the morning. We’ll beg for coffee at 9 o’clock at night. We’re supposed to show you the ropes of being in a sorority, but we’ll show you the ropes to life, too, and vice versa.

Sometimes we leave, though. We transfer, we graduate, we drop. That doesn’t mean we’re no longer your big. We are. We’re your big when we’re 3,000 miles away and when we’re a block away. We’re your big now, and we will be then, too.

Call us, beep us, you can always reach us.

Chances are, when you need us, we need you, too.

We know this is cheesy and filled with clichés, but that doesn’t mean it’s not filled with truth, too.

We love you, littles. We love you with our big hearts.