I grew up with an older sister who is eight-years-older than me. I consider her to not only be the best sister ever but my best friend too. But growing up it was not always like that; being eight years apart we were always at different stages of our lives. We used to bicker when we were kids but as we have grown older I can honestly say she is not only the best sister in the world but also my best friend! Being her little sister rocks and this is why.

Everybody likes free clothes and being the youngest I get plenty of those. When I was younger I thought hand me downs were the worst, now I love when I get my sister's old clothes, jewelry or shoes. I got my fashion sense from her so all of her hand me downs are perfect for me.

She broke my parents in for me. They were all prepared for college, my graduation party, prom because they had already done that with her. They knew exactly what they were doing, any mistakes they made previously didn’t happen because they were prepared for everything this time.

I learned what not to do. Slamming doors get's it taken off the hinges, setting your watch back ten minutes doesn’t fool our parents, and fighting with them will just set them off more. Watching her get in trouble showed me everything I should not do when I got older. She totally turned me into an angel child.

She gives me the best advice. If I need help on something I can always call her because she's already been through all this. Whenever I had drama in school or need advice about college I know I can call her and she'll help me.

I always have somebody there for me when I need them. Any day that I’m having a bad day or a fight with friends, I can always count on my sister to be there for me. She does everything she can to brighten my days and always stands up for me against anybody. Nobody messes with her baby sister. If I need a shoulder to cry on or somebody to vent to, I have her number on speed dial. I’m beyond grateful to always have somebody there for me like that.

Finally, many will say that your parents are your biggest influence; but they are completely wrong. When I was younger I wanted to be exactly like my big sister and she influenced everything I did. I grew up having the greatest role model out there and I still do. She shows me that working hard will help you achieve success. Through high school, I watched her work hard to become the best cheerleader she could which pushed me to do the same. Now, she is doing wonderful in her career which is pushing me to work hard in college so I can be as successful as her. She is the best role model God could have given me.

So clearly, being the little sister rocks because having an older sister as great as mine is something everybody wishes for.