Anyone who has a big sister knows just how special the bond between you and your sister is. It is one of the most important relationships you’ll ever have in your life. She's really been with you through it all and will be there for whatever else comes your way. She truly is different than anyone else you have in your life, and she really is the best gift you could have ever gotten in your life, because without her, you wouldn't have part of what makes you, you.

She helped form your taste in music.

Even if it was just teaching you how a CD player worked, she totally got you interested in your first boy band or two, even if you didn't actually like them. If they were cool enough for her, they were cool enough for you.

Which lead to some awesome bedroom dance parties.

Nothing is better than unwinding with your sister listening to her new music because, after all, big sis always gets to choose the music, but you can always choose the dance moves. Even if it interrupted her time with her friends.

She broke your parents in, so anything you do doesn't seem as bad.

Since she was first, she was the one that your parents focused all of their worry and paranoia on. She was the one who got in trouble for bad report cards, staying out too late, and not cleaning the house. But she also proved that you could get a low grade, stay out late and live in a room full of mismatched shoes and clothes piles without your life falling to pieces. She did all the hard work of putting things into perspective for your parents so you didn’t have to.

She paved the way for you.

When you were little, you basically had no role models outside of family members, teachers, and your best friend that sat next to you in homeroom, which didn't really leave many options for personal development. But then you remember how weird life would be if you were an only-child, or the older sister. Life is a lot harder to master without someone else around who has done it before. She helped you develop yourself by learning who she was first. She showed you that it was okay to disagree, and that there is more than one approach to life and that sometimes you might have to stand up for what you know is right, even if that means going against the grain. She taught you about the value of honesty, confidence, and determination.

She taught you how to love yourself.

She was there through your awkward middle school phase where you swore the amount of eyeliner you were wearing was cute, and still told you were beautiful anyway. She supported you through everything you did, and never even thought of putting you down. She let you learn to love yourself without ever forcing it on you.

She shaped your fashion choices.

Hand-me-downs were bascially half your wardrobe, and you always couldn't wait for her to grow out of something so you could have it. Even though sometimes you couldn't wait long enough and would just have to "try it on" for a few hours when she wasn't around. Really you just wanted to look like her as much as you could.

You know you can always go to her for advice.

Whether it be boys, school, home, anything really, she has probably been through it and knows how to help you. You know you can go to her and she would never judge you for a single thing, and that's something really special.

She introduced you to stuff you love.

Odds are, you picked up a lot of your tastes in movies, music, hobbies, etc, a little bit form your older sister. She was the one who shared her CDs and Blockbuster movies with you and introduced you to the universe outside your hometown bubble. She opened the door for you so that you could discover your own interests, even if they weren't necessarily hers too. She made the world a feel whole lot bigger and helped you start to explore.

You have someone to share all your childhood memories with.

She is someone who can look back with you and reminisce on the past with. You both have your favorite home video, and she can understand all of the little habits you carry with you because of your upbringing better than most, and can still laugh at that joke you shared when you were in elementary school together. She was there for every first kiss, first date, Christmas, New Years, wedding, everything.

No one will ever love you as much as they do.

She is someone who will be connected to you for the rest of your life, both by blood and by all the times that you share together. No matter where life takes you, no matter where you end up, or who you end up being in the end, you’ll always have someone you can call to talk to about the past, present, or future with. You know she'll always be your best friend until the end, and really, what more could you ask for?