They say you never quite know someone until you travel with them. Well, I learned this the hard way when I traveled to Asia with my sister for a month. But as painful as I may make the experience out to be, I ended up learning more about my sister in those 30 days than I had in the 19 years of living under the same roof. It turns out that, when you spend every waking moment with someone, day in and day out, you start to realize how much of a stranger that person has been to you your whole life.

My sister and I are only a year apart. More like, 15 months to be exact. Growing up, we were always antagonizing each other and always getting under each other’s skin. But it wasn't until we matured and until our differences turned into similarities that, I realized how much I enjoyed the company of my younger sister.

Being that we are so close in age, my sister and I were always exposed to the same experiences when it came to travel, sports, and education. So earlier this year, when my sister broke the news to me that she would be serving as a Mormon missionary in Paraguay for 18 months, I nearly balled my eyes out. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was extremely happy for her, but the thought of not being able to see my best friend for over a year was hard for me to wrap my mind around.

Soon after my sister notified me of her decision, I felt the urge to plan one last adventure for us. An adventure that would be both meaningful and memorable. Neither of us had ever been to Asia before, and we both knew that we wanted to challenge ourselves, so we decided to travel to Nepal and India once school let out.

When the day to begin our journey was finally upon us, I felt equally nervous as I was excited. The last time I had traveled with my sister was when I was in middle school, so I had zero expectations going into this trip. I knew that Asia was going to test our relationship right off the bat, but what I didn't realize was that, my sister ended up teaching me more about life than I could've ever imagined.

One of the more memorable things my sister taught me is that, sometimes you need to take a step back and remember that traveling is a privilege and not something to be taken for granted. My sister opened my eyes to many of life's details that I tend to overlook, and she helped me experience life from a whole new perspective. We may be polar opposites at times, but my sister and I became more in sync with each other after surviving a few rough patches in unfamiliar territory. It might not have always been easy, but traveling together was certainly worth fighting through our differences.

From the very first night, when we received zero sleep to the very last day when we refused to speak to each other, traveling with my sister was both challenging and rewarding. Our first week together was the hardest. My sister and I constantly bickered over directions, money, food, and broken toothpaste caps (sorry, Nat). When she was not complaining about how sloppy I was, which, by the way, is nothing new to her, my sister was either complaining about the lack of sleep she was getting or the food. With all of the hostility between us, I didn’t know how I was going to leave Asia alive or with my sanity. But as I began to look past all of the negativity, I realized that being on the other side of the world with my sister was a blessing in disguise. Since I’m used to traveling by myself, I’ve never had the responsibility of looking after someone else. Traveling with a sibling is like having a pet. You have to keep them out of trouble, feed them, and make sure that they are happy. And let me tell you, pleasing my sister was no easy task. Learning to deal with my sister's negativity taught me the value of always looking at the bright side of a situation.

In the first week alone, my sister taught me the importance of responsibility and putting others first. When traveling solo, I tend to be a bit selfish. But traveling with my sister made me more disciplined and more willing to give up certain luxuries for her happiness. Whenever I am away, there are a few occasions where I skip a meal or two. It’s convenient when it's just me, but when I had to look after my sister, I couldn’t afford to cut corners like I was used to doing. It’s safe to say that, my sister slowly made me a more responsible traveler. I guess through all of my travels, I'd forgotten the importance of being smart and looking after myself. My sister brought these things to my attention and helped me realize how much I need to improve as a traveler.

When my sister and I were not bickering, we actually found each other’s company to be delightful. By examining each other’s quirks, my sister and I realized how different we really are. We’re actually exact opposites. And the more I spent time getting to know my sister, the more I started to appreciate her. My sister converted to Mormonism only a year before our trip, and I never understood her reasoning for it. I never knew how passionate or how dedicated my sister was to her faith until I spent night after night watching her journal and read the Book of Mormon. Although I don’t share the same religious beliefs as my sister, I was able to get a first-hand look at her relationship with God. And by doing so, I was able to build a stronger appreciation for her beliefs.

Aside from helping me gain a better perspective on my own travels, my sister showed me the importance of spreading joy and getting to know complete strangers. My sister has always been more outgoing than me, and she demonstrated, in just one month, how easy it is to get to know someone. And the more I followed my sister's lead, the more I was able to experience the joy of putting myself out there.

Both my sister and I are pretty passionate individuals. We both try to pursue our goals in life with a passion. And something I've always admired about my sister is how hard she works to achieve her goals. I may not agree with everything my sister believes in or with everything she does, but I don't have to because that's what makes our relationship incredibly unique. I don't want my sister to be like me, and I'm sure she doesn't want me to be like her, so we've learned, by accepting each other's differences, to be less judgmental. I think we realized that after all the years of critiquing and criticizing each other that enough was enough. Having a sister is one of life's greatest gifts; luckily, I have two. Maybe someday I'll travel the world with my older sister. Who knows?

After a month full of trekking in Nepal, sweating bullets, and nearly falling out of tuk tuks in India, it's safe to say that I got to know my sister on a whole new level. Probably the most important takeaway from our journey is that travel is meant to be shared. The world is a big place, and exploring life's beauty is much more enjoyable with good company by your side.

Now that my sister is gone, it's funny to think about how much we fought and complained about each other during our trip. But I know that traveling together was an experience that we had to take advantage of. It was an opportunity to grow not just as individuals, but as a team. Traveling with my sibling turned out to be a wonderful journey, and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I'm grateful for the experiences I got tot share with my sister, and I appreciate everything she taught me.