Most sisters have their ups and downs growing up, but it is what makes the relationship better and stronger. It's graduation season and my sister recently graduated from her college with grad school as her next step to fulfill the dreams she has for her future career. Ever since we were little kids, she has always been my role model and the person I strive to be like. Watching her try and try again in every aspect of life until she succeeded at them has been exactly what I needed in order to reach my own goals and dreams.

Big sister, you've been there for me since the way beginning when I lost my first tooth to the tears and confusion of my first heartbreak. No matter how silly any of this seems now, you were there and let me be as dramatic as I wanted. I've followed you through it all; through school, family events, friendships, attitudes, careers and much more. I've always followed you and have always learned from you. Through your mistakes to my mistakes, we continue to learn from one another and this does not end here.

Going into college, my big sister had an idea of what she wanted to have as a career and eventually college made this dream a possible reality. All of her hard work over four years payed off when she got accepted into a great grad school program perfect for what she wants to do. For all of these successes, she deserves way more than a "congratulations", but she also deserves a "thank you".

This thank you is a thank you for all things, little and big, over the course of our relationship. From dancing around the kitchen as kids to singing on road trips as teenagers, you were there. From arguing over crayons to arguing over clothes, you were there. Whether the situation was positive or negative, we always found a way to get through it and you were there every step of the way. So through all of it, thank you.

Thank you for being the most amazing role model any little sister could ask for.

Thank you for all of the lessons, both big and small.

Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself.

Thank you for encouraging me.

Thank you for always telling me how it was and yelling at me when I needed it.

Thank you for being there for me whenever I needed you, even if it was over things that now seem silly.

Thank you for being my teammate for 20 years, with many more to come.

While there is way more to thank you for, these are the most important. Having you by my side for my entire life has been such an enormous inspiration and I'll never be able to thank you enough for all that you've done. While you continue to succeed throughout grad school and then in the real world, I will always be your little sister and will continue to annoy you, visit you, and constantly ask you for advice.

Congratulations on all you've accomplished and everything you will continue to accomplish over the next few years. Looking up to you for my entire life has made me who I am today and because of that, I've learned to love who I am and where I am

From day one to now, congratulations on everything you've accomplished and thank you.

"Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers."