Hey lil sis,
It seems like just yesterday that we would walk to the bus stop corner with our colossal book bags and tackle the school day together, and your ideas of making new friends meant calling people Spidey because of their backpack preferences. But now, your goals for the future have far surpassed that size – especially because you’re almost ready to graduate high school.
I know it’s been foreign to you to not have me in school with you this past year, but you’ve been free to create your own footprint instead of following very closely in mine. You’ve gotten to rule the school and be the role model for underclassmen that I so much enjoyed. Being 13 months apart really set us up well for always having someone to depend on in school, minus the one year gap I usually had in transitioning between elementary to middle and middle to high school. I know you sometimes grew weary of being asked, “Are you Hannah’s younger sister?” I think I would too, especially when you’re working so hard to develop your own identity and feel stuck in my shadow.
But lil sis, even though you may have felt annoyance at the question if we’re related or not, I always will feel immense pride when I get to say yes. You are so self-assured in where you came from in your journey to the wonderful person you are now. You’re making strides by embracing all possibilities after high school and weighing your choices. You are hysterical, and I miss your crazy antics. Your intelligence transcends what you know from the classroom, and you possess so many attributes that I continue to learn from growing up alongside you, especially poise in defining your own personality.
So listen close, because second semester of senior year will soar by. It’s a cliché, but it’s also the truest thing you never really believe until you’re experiencing it. There will be some days at the end that make you think climbing Mt. Everest would be an easier feat than another day in class. You’ll come down with a serious case of senioritis, but it is curable with a diploma and a mortar board. You’ll probably get into a few more petty arguments about issues that don’t matter with friends that matter the most to you. Tests will come and go, weekends will be spent in anticipation of Prom, Brook Olympics, and getting to don that cap and gown. And you’re almost there, but slow down, lil sis.
Enjoy all the little moments. Enjoy the fact that Mom packs your lunch still. Relish those jam sessions on the drive to school, especially to High School Musical. Talk to your teachers and form bonds that’ll make you a little sad to leave, but glad you have such great mentors. Get to school a little early and watch all the kids who are younger than you begin the journey you’ve come to the tail end of. Stay involved. Pore over the yearbook filled with mementos (especially because I was the reigning best editor in Willowbrook history, wink wink), and take signatures to heart; you’re so important to so many of your peers. Sporting events – go to all of them. Theater productions – give your classmates a standing ovation. It’s your last curtain call in this stage of your life, so take a bow!
You make me so proud Zoe, and I am so excited to be back in our main gym, watching you receive your high school diploma. You put in the grind, you made the friendships, you completed four years of an education that has prepared you for so much more than you know right now. You did it!
Your high school career might be just about over, but your future is just beginning; I love you with my whole heart Zo… once a Warrior, always a Warrior.
Love,
Hannah