Dear little brother,

You are such an intelligent, strong, courageous, determined, motivated, funny, compassionate, sweet, passionate and ambitious individual.

One of the greatest honors I have in this life is being able to watch the young man you are becoming. While I will admit, there were a few rough years in there where I was nearly certain we would never be friends, you have come so far. I’ve watched your priorities and values evolve and grow, your passions develop into pure determination and kindness proliferate your actions despite that stoic exterior of yours. You are not only an incredible young man but an amazing individual.

You and I have come a long way, we truly have.

If you think about where we were 10 years ago, heck even if you think about where we were a year ago… we weren’t friends. We were merely siblings. I loved you and I always came to your defense (although, preferably when you weren’t listening) but at the end of the day- we didn’t exchange secrets, we didn’t talk about life and we most certainly weren’t each other’s first calls for advice.

But today? You are my first call.

Your once short, aggravated answers have transformed into long, thought-through, carefully crafted; and, the unwanted advice I once gave to you is no longer that… unwanted. We talk about secrets and life and fears and dreams and the people we despise, just as easily as we talk about our daily lives, our work schedules and our long lists of to-dos. You listen. I listen. You talk. I talk. We actually hear what comes out of each other’s mouths now. We have quality conversations and I am so deeply grateful for that because I want us to share our lives with one another.

And, it’s inevitable that one day there is going to be a woman (or, more likely, multiple along the way) whom capture your heart (because any woman would be lucky to be with you); but, I want you to know that even as relationships come and go, siblings are forever. And don’t you ever doubt how protective an older sister can be because trust me, I can kick some serious a**. I will defend you even when you’re not around to hear it, that is my vow to you. I will be with you through thick and thin, in good times and in bad, through weird distant spells where we’re both busy. No matter what, I am going to be there for you.

Therefore you must remember something, little brother- even when you get on my my nerves, when we disagree, when you nearly break my shoulder blade attempting that new wrestling technique… I am always going to be there for you; I am always going to be your biggest fan; and, I am always going to come running the second you need me.

I want you to know that no matter where I am in the world, I am constantly rooting for your success, your happiness and for your wildest dreams to come true.

Please never forget that it doesn’t matter to me where I am, what I am doing or what time it is… if you need me, I promise I will come running.

So much love,

Your biggest fan, defender and sister.