To my three little sisters; 17, 12 and 8. We are an eclectic group, we don’t share the same father, and I know that I am the only common denominator between us four. My relationships with each of you are very different; each as important than the others. But, only recently has the weight of our interactions and bloodline truly weighed on me. Recently, despite how obvious it may have seen before, I have realized how important my actions towards each of you are in shaping the woman each of you will eventually become. My actions as a big sister do have meaning, even if you or I don’t want to always believe that.
In this moment of realization, I would like to make up for things I have said or done in the past and clarify the things I still want to say now. As a female role model in each of your lives, I want to push the fact that your womanhood is beautiful, unique, and uncontestably your own. But, at the same time, what makes being a woman so beautiful yet delicate is that we are so heavily impacted by other women. I hope that I have never let you doubt your trust, that I have always pushed you to be competitive, confident and arrogant when needed. Actions that women across generations and geographical locations matter and impact other women and younger girls who are looking to these females for guidance.
For my 17-year old, you are a people pleaser and you see the best in everyone. And I mean that in the kindest way. It is what will make you a loving mother one day and I cannot wait to be the aunt of your children who will be as open-hearted and kind as you are. But, I do want you to remember to take care of yourself, to not get caught up in the person people want you to be, and instead to be a true embodiment of the person you are. You are strong and you do matter. Growing up a middle child with the overbearing personality (that is also yours truly) and our prodigy of an angelic little brother cannot be easy, but along the way, I think you have proven yourself over and over again. You are resilient and beautiful.
For my two littles, German sisters: where do I even begin? I adore the fact that you both look up to me and pour out so much love to me even though we speak mostly through translations. As you both continue to grow up and learn more and more English, I feel selfish and useless because my German remains terrible. You are both smart and laugh as though there is nothing wrong in this world. You have both never questioned my legitimacy as a part of your family (our family!) despite the fact that I entered it only a few years ago. You both love without regret and hesitance, and there is so much I can learn from that. What you both can learn from me, from growing up with a sister who is close in age, is that despite the arguments and bickering that are cliché of the sister relationship, never doubt one another or discourage one another. There is so much opportunity to be grabbed at; so much that the female body must prove and protect, and I hope that you can be a part of that, and want to be a part of that.
At the end of the day, for all three of you, I do not care where you end up, who you end up with, and how you wish to interact with me. Yes, of course, I want to be a part of your life, but before that, I want you to each truly be a part of your life, a life where you feel boundless to the fact that you are indeed female and you are indeed capable of anything and everything.
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