To say we have had our ups and downs would be a vast understatement. I’m pretty sure you still have a scar on your arm from that time our parents trusted us alone for five minutes on vacation 15 years ago. I can’t even count the number of times I had to lock myself in the bathroom hiding from you, or the times I was chasing you around the house for reasons I can’t remember. We have fought both physically and verbally countless times, in ways that had to have shaved years off of our mom’s life, wondering if we would ever be able to get along. I’m sure we have both wished to be only children more times than we want to admit.

But today I can’t, and don't want to imagine what my life would be like without you in it. You are one of the few people that I know I can call with any problem at almost any hour of the day, knowing you will have an answer. You won’t judge me or push me off, you’ll look me straight in the eye and tell it to me as it is. You protect my heart while not being too sheltering, and you always make sure I know how strong I can be. School, boys, friends, work, whatever the problem is, you always seem to know what to say to help me out. Your answer may not always be the first one that I want to hear, but it’s always the one that I need to hear. You tell me when I am being unreasonable, calm me down when I’m overreacting, and encourage me when I need a boost. You may not always approve of my decisions, but you always hear me out and try to see things from my perspective. You listen to my problems and my apprehensions, you provide a shoulder for me to cry on, and you remind me that I am never alone.

When you moved away to college, it was a bit of a relief for both of us. We had spent 15 years living next to each other, sharing a bathroom and a wall, and we needed our space. You moved 1,000 miles away, and rather than the distance pushing us apart, it was the best thing for us. In the past 5 years we have not only grown up, but grown together. Even if we don't see each other for months on end, we come back together like no time has changed at all. You will always be able to look at me and know exactly what I am feeling, and how to cheer me up. No matter how down I am, you can always bring a smile back to my face with the slightest of effort. Despite how many times I thought I could just kill you, I wouldn't give up the bond that we have today for anything. And I know that as we both begin to go out to the real world and maybe go our separate paths, no matter how far away we might be, we will always have each other to fall back on. Whoever said a sister is the best friend you could ever have really had something going. Without you sister, I would be lost in this life.