To my big brother,

I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for letting me tag along with you and your friends with little complaining when I couldn’t stay alone by myself yet. Thank you for being irritatingly overprotective when it came to boys. Thank you for showing me that not only are Barbies cool, but so are Hot Wheels, Gameboys, and Star Wars. Thank you for always having my back in any situation I landed in. There are 19 years worth of thank you's, so there are countless things I’m grateful to you for, but I don’t think I could list them all.

I know that you always wanted a little brother. But it means the world to me that you accepted me and let me learn from you. We’re both in college now, and I am still watching every move you make. You’ve set every example in my life, and I’ve tried my best to follow with the same grace you’ve had. I just wanna let you know that although I will never understand what it’s like to be the oldest child, a position that holds the greatest responsibility, I will never underestimate how much you’ve done for me.

From you, I received a personal guide that taught me that not being the baby in the family anymore isn’t so horrible, the ropes of high school, the pros and cons of driving, and finally, how to make my university home. I can’t imagine having to learn all of these important life lessons without someone there who has gone through the exact same thing before me. I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for that.

Hard to believe we’re “adults” now, huh? All of those times we’d nap on the couch together because we were that tiny, all those afternoons I’d make you drive my Barbie Jeep around the yard while I rode shotgun, all those Christmas mornings we’d sneak downstairs together before Mom and Dad woke up just to take in the lights on the tree and piles of presents. All of these moments are gone, part of the seemingly distant past. I can remember those days clearly, and I cherish these memories. Because I realize how lucky I am that I was born with a built-in best friend to look out for me in all of my huge milestones.

You won’t ever see yourself from your little sister’s perspective, but if you could, you’d see a considerate, intelligent, confident, and awesome human being. I can’t emphasize that enough. I just hope that you take some of my words to heart, because they’re all true. Just like you’ve told me so many times, I don’t ever want you to feel alone or unappreciated in this world. If you need a reminder sometimes, just read this and think of the little girl that dressed up as Charmander for Halloween over a decade ago so she could match her Pikachu big brother.

Sincerely,

Bean