Everyone has a person, or if they’re lucky, a few people, that they look up to. Since I was younger, I’ve always had someone I looked up to. I found myself attached at the hip to my mom and when the time came for her to send me off to kindergarten, I was the definition of a teacher’s pet. I have been able to find a role model in so many of the older girls and women who I have come across in my lifetime.

After I outgrew my own camp and after school years and went off to college, I wasn’t sure that I’d find someone to look up to and admire. After going through Panhellenic recruitment and finding my true “home away from home” I quickly realized that I was involved in a sisterhood full of people that I could look up to and who would inspire me every day.

Although there are tons of people I consider to be my role models, there is one person I met my freshman year of college who would not only become one of my best friends but my big. Your big is intended to be a sister you can go to for anything and everything, and your relationship is what you make of it. Luckily, my relationship with my big is unlike any other. She constantly inspires me to be positive, brave, happy and has shown me that it is possible to overcome any and every obstacle life throws at you while remaining fearless.

I value each and every friendship I have and have ever had, but I am lucky enough to have an incredible friendship with an incredible person. It takes a special type of person to take any situation and turn it into something to learn from and adds it to the list of things that just makes her stronger.

Strong women empower strong women. It is so important to surround yourself with people who inspire you to become stronger and better every single day. People you can look up to and rely on for support, despite any obstacle life may throw at them. To watch a person endure such a difficult time in their life while staying so strong, positive, and motivated, is one of the most inspiring things I have witnessed yet.

Always value your friendships and relationships, and allow yourself to be inspired by the actions and mindsets of other people. There is something that you can learn from each and every one. Knowing you have someone to look up to is such a comforting feeling, and being able to reciprocate this feeling of comfort is so important.

Who knows, maybe someone even looks up to you.