A Letter to My Sister

My sister and I may not have been the best of friends growing up, but after being in college for a while, we may have made some progress over the years to be better friends than enemies. I know it is hard for siblings to get along when they are young, but making sure they are there for each other in times of relationships and life struggles is something every sibling should partake in.

Next year, she will be graduating from college and I know everything is going to be a lot different than those internships, ambassador experiences, and courses she is taking now. The real world is either friend or foe, it depends on how you take it into consideration that matters the most.

So here is some advice from the older one who may have been a free spirit, but was cautious enough to know some of the ways in which reality is different outside of closed doors.

Dear Sis,

I remember the story mom used to say to me about the time they brought you home from the hospital, swaddled in your pink blanket and hat. The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew that I was going to be a big sister and I wanted to give the world to you. At first glance you were tiny and perfect, innocent and sweet. Mom said I kissed you on the forehead and gave her the biggest toothed grin I could manage.

Today, you are a beautiful woman who is strong and wonderful just the way I imagined you. Sharp as a whip, determined, and fierce are just some of the words that I describe you. You intimidate and perform on every level that defines your possibilities. I always smile when I see your stride become a little bigger and your next chapter become a great success story for all those wonderful people who have accompanied you on your journey to being that amazing woman you are today.

But today is the day you graduated from college. My gratitude may come from a hug or a side squeeze, but knowing how far you have come is the best outcome out of the six impossible things I counted at breakfast about you growing up. College may have prepared you for courses and skills that are needed to become what you choose for a career path, but it doesn't account into the many things you would pursue from the real world that are never taught as valuable skills to memorize.

Life is a budget book, a scale, and a balancing chart full of how to live successfully and stay full to brim with that cunning ambition you always have. It is something you need to watch, construct, and memorize on a daily basis whatever the job and whatever the task. It punishes those who dream and rewards those who achieve. It is something that only those who are not faint at heart can subdue the perils of adulthood.

I have no worries that you can make it on your own. I have no qualms that you might endure hardships and frightful navigation into where you plan on going in a career. As your oldest sibling, I still live in Wonderland, deciding the path to make and whether or not stopping at a mad tea party was the best of intentions to discover who I am and what I must be. But there is no need to be feared for you about what you chose to walk down.

Be successful, be ambitious, and be humble are my only wishes for you to become a successful woman. Everyone is going to judge you, decide whether or not to have you in their company or in their employment, but the biggest thing you can do is make sure you show them the real you. You have talent, perseverance, and respect for yourself. That is something no one can take away from you.

So go on and live your life. Live your days like they are the best in the world, act like nothing is holding you down, and dare to dream about being more. Not all those who are lost wander and not all those who wander are lost.

I love you and everyone at home is rooting for you. We wish you the very best and will be your wings every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Your oldest sibling