Having a sister in your life is a beautiful (and sometimes annoying) thing, especially a younger one. She can teach you so many lessons about life and yourself, that as you get older you’ll find you appreciate more. You’ll probably chuckle to yourself when you think, wow aren’t I supposed to be teaching her lessons; I am the older sister after all.
1. You don’t always have to follow the leader. When I was a kid, my sister and I were jumping the steps outside my great-grandmothers house, trying to see how many steps we could clear each time. One time, my little sister tried to jump more steps than her little legs could handle at the time, and she went tumbling into the bushes next to the steps. To this day, she has a little white scar on her forehead from following the leader.
2. Sometimes you have to ignore what your parents think is best for you in order to go after what it is you want. Little sisters already have pressure to live up to their older sibling, and parents often (unintentionally) compare them to their older sibling. When I was applying to college, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. At the start of her senior year of high school, my little sister thought she knew, too. However, here she is a little over a month from her high school graduation, and she’s completely turned around. The great thing is though, even though our parents are having a hard time adjusting to her new goals, she’s standing firm in what she wants to do with her life.
3. If you care that much about someone, you stand firm by your heart no matter what everyone else says. Although I’m not the fondest of my little sister’s boyfriend, I admire how much she cares about him. We may get in tiffs about my opinion of their relationship, but she always makes sure to let me know that she’ll take my advice when she asks for it. She believes in their relationship and works hard to make sure they overcome any bump the road brings up for them.
4. Sister Secrets. Enough said.
5. Be unapologetically yourself. My little sister has an ambitious, contagious, very loud personality. (Emphasis on the very loud part.) She’s usually the center of attention and everyone knows when she’s arrived, but the thing is, they love it. No one gets (too) annoyed with her, because it isn’t an act. She is unapologetically herself all the time, and I think that takes a lot of strength to not let expectations of others to make you change how you act.
The thing about having a little sister is that I have someone in my life that looks up to me, but can also call me out, and I won’t even think twice about it because she has known me for just that long. She sees things about myself that I don’t notice, she’s there when I need her and answers (most of the time) when I call. Though I always want to protect her from any bad in the world, I know she has to experience somethings in order to grow, and I’ll be there to comfort her, offer her advice on how to beat the curve balls life is throwing at her, and look back on life’s lessons with her. I’ll always have someone to help me remember the funny childhood stories, talk about the first rules we broke together, be an absolute goofball with me and dream about things we’ll do in the future together. There truly is no better friend than a sister, especially with the one I’ve got.
Images: some embarrassing days of playing pretend, filled with lots of laughter and endless love.