There are so many things on this planet to be thankful for and amongst them, I'm thankful for you.

You're my hero. My go-to person when things may be falling apart, my uplifting spirit on my bad days, and the celebration on my good days. You're beautiful and inspiring and you are always pushing me to try hard and succeed in life. To me, you seem like a super hero. No, you're not perfect . . . but you're perfect to me -- and that's all that matters.

You've been by my side since day one. We were born into the same family by fate but we became friends by choice.

When you were 23 and I was 13, hanging out with you had to be one of the coolest things I had done in 8th grade. Whether it was just hanging out on my deck during the summer months, spontaneously going to Sonic to order one of every thing on the menu because it had just opened and we wanted to try it, or going to Movie Tuesday because you had free tickets -- those are the times I will never forget. I understand you may not feel this way because me being ten years younger than you, it may have felt that it was a burden to spend time with me but in those years, it became the most crucial.

Those years were the building blocks to our friendship. I started to experience things that you've been an expert on for years and I gained your trust and began to confide in you as one of my friends. We grew up. We learned about each other. And our different interests and maybe even our different perspectives on life. But there was one thing that always stayed the same, our unbreakable bond.

To this day, I've accomplished so much. And so have you. But I give you a lot of the credit for helping to mold me into the person I am today. You're the reason behind my drive and motivation to be the best version of myself. You get me. You understand me. You know what I need to do to succeed, maybe even before I know what to do for myself. You've guided, accepted me, and loved me unconditionally through some of the hardest times of my life.

You are my strength when I need support. You are the sister I never had (not that our parents would want to have us as sisters, anyway).

You've had your fair share of tough times like I've had mine. But to be honest, it gives me joy and comfort in knowing that you know you can come to me with your troubles, just like I can you.

We have both been through our fair share of ups and downs in life and throughout those times, we have relied on each other to pull us through. As we get older, our personalities differ more and more, but the bond we share gets more and more connected. No matter how far apart we travel in life, I will always know who's at the base of it all -- we will always be connected.

I love you!