I would first like to start off with saying I don’t have a sister. I’ve never had someone braid my hair, stay up all night to give me advice on boys or even had someone to be pissed at for multiple days over a stupid comment.

I’ve never had a sister, and quiet frankly, up until this year, I didn’t think I needed one. I loved having my own room growing up and dreaded the idea of having someone stealing my clothes.

I never wanted to have to compete with them about who had the better grades, the cuter boyfriend, the nicest friends, the prettiest dress and so on. I thought not having a sister made my life easier, but I was completely wrong – it was a million times harder.

There were so many moments this year when I could just scream at my roommate for all of the comments she made. “Yes, I know it’s 40 degrees outside, and yes, I am still wearing this dress. No, I do not want you to take my rotten bananas out with you to the garbage. Yes, I do know I am late to class this morning, what do you care?” Yes, I had someone nag me throughout the year, but I didn’t realize until too late what those comments really meant.

She loved me. She loved me enough to make sure I knew it was cold outside, keep from eating gross bananas and worry that if I didn’t make it to class, I would have a hard time catching up. Those comments weren’t selfish comments to make herself seem better than me; they were to help me.

You don’t really realize how much a person means to you until they drop everything they’re doing to get you a chicken sandwich from the cafeteria because you are too sick to get out of bed, or when you’re silently crying on the phone because every single element in your personal life is going to hell.

Could I have kept my side of the room cleaner? Of course. Taken out the garbage more than once a month? Absolutely. But the best part about having a sister is that even in those moments when I am the worst roommate in the world, our love for each other overcomes that.

To the roommate who became my sister, thank you so much for the memories we made and the tears we shared. Yes, our passive aggressive comments sometimes got the best of us, but you made me realize the one thing I never thought I would.

Sisterhood isn’t about having the same genes, the same type of hair or even the same parents. Sisterhood is a choice. It is a choice you make every single day to continue to love each other, and I’m sorry that most days I failed you. But, thank you for the days when you picked me up and helped put me back together when no one else could.

Thank you for loving me, despite my past mistakes. Sisterhood is a choice, and I choose you as the person who I will love, support and confide in for the rest of my life.

Love,

Your sister by choice