Dear Little Brother,

I absolutely cannot believe the fact that you’re graduating in just a few short months. I seems like time flew by for the both of us and suddenly, we’re here. We went from Disney movies and me pulling your first tooth out with a Batman figurine to driving to school together every morning and sharing our Friday and Saturday nights together on the podium. You’ve grown up before my eyes and I couldn’t be more proud of the man you’ve become.

You told me in a letter once that you always looked up to me, but the truth is, I look up to you. Not everything in your life has been easy, but you’ve always handled it with such grace and wisdom. You’re 100% logical, something I’d wish I could be a little more of. You’re smart. So smart, in fact, that you’re applying to places I could only dream of getting into. You were born with such a great sense of humor. There isn’t a time in our lives that you haven’t made me laugh until I cried, and then laughed some more. You’re a faithful young man. You’ve never lost sight of God, even in the midst of all your hardships. You persevere more than any person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Watching you walk again for the first time was a testament to that. You impress me, day in and day out. I know you make our parents proud as well.

I’m not going to lie and say that the thought of you moving away doesn’t scare me because I think it scares all of us, our parents included. I don’t want to lose my brother and I don’t want you to stop talking to me either, just because there are miles between us. So call. Text. Visit. I miss you and chances are that I want to hear about your day. Go to your classes, even when you don’t want to. Your participation grade will thank you for it. Call our mother from time to time. She wants to hear from you just as much as I do. Stay active and keep playing basketball any chance you can. The freshman 15 is no joke. Put yourself out there and make new friends. These will be your family when you’re away from home. Get a job and work hard. You will be more thankful for the things you actually have. Most importantly, be you. Share your smarts and your sense of humor and your faith with the world. You will change someone’s life, just as you have changed mine just by being my little brother.

I love you so so much.

Your Big Sister