Dear Little "Sister,"
When you first came into my life I had no idea the impact that you would have on me. I was 10 years old when you started at mom's daycare, and almost 10 years later, we haven't been able to get rid of you. I always joke about what an ugly baby you were, but I can tell you now that you are one of the most beautiful people on the planet; you are flawless both inside and out. And there are some other things I want to tell you, too.
You are, by far, one of the coolest people I know. You have a heart of gold and I wish that I could protect your innocence forever. You've already witnessed more in your (almost) decade of life than you should have, but you're an amazing young girl in spite of all of it.
You are going to have to work pretty damn hard in this society. One reason I want to protect your innocence is because you're going to face a lot of adversity in your life based solely on your identity. As a woman of color, there's going to be members of society who don't think you're capable of success. Prove them wrong, baby girl. Show them what you're made of.
I love that you look up to me, but I pray every day that you surpass every single one of my successes. I want you to be 10 times the woman I am and I know that you can be. I just want you to know that, as competitive as I am, you are one of few people that I don't mind coming behind.
You are my role model. As silly as it seems, I look up to you a whole lot. Your optimism makes me strive to be a better person. Your silliness reminds me that there's no fun in being serious all the time. You push me to grow better as a person.
I love our sister days. I always look forward to spending my days with you and finding our own adventures. It's always fun when I can introduce you to something that you haven't experienced yet, like our date to Medieval Times. But I have just as good of a time going to the park and getting ice cream.
You are my favorite shotgun rider. Don't get me wrong, I love to jam and sing in the car with my friends. But nothing beats driving down the road, with you by my side and the windows down, singing every song that comes on the radio.
I am beyond proud to call you my sister. There is nothing you could do that would change the way that I feel about you. I aim to be like you and to make you proud every day. I brag about you to almost every person I meet, so much more than you will ever know. Blood could not make us any closer; you are without a doubt my family.
Don't you ever change.
Love,
Your Big "Sister"
