(Once again, it's birthday time. All can read this post if they so choose but it is a letter to my Baby Sis)
Happy Birthday Baby Sis!! Today, you turn eighteen years old. You are officially a grown up. You can legally vote. You can join the army. You can move out on your own and leave us all in the dust. Anything is possible, Baby Sis.
You've hit a lot of rough patches along the way to get to where you are today but those rough patches have made you twice as beautiful as you were before. You are only more amazing and only stronger for the things you've been through.
Right now, you're a senior in high school and some days it can feel like you're on top of the world. Well I just want you to remember to be careful Baby Sis. It's easier the higher up you feel to come crashing down. Don't get ahead of yourself and remember where you're coming from. But at the same time, don't be afraid to run full speed ahead!
Baby Sis, you're amazing. You are fearless and take no flack for who you are. I admire you for having the guts to do all that you do. You're braver than you know. In the two short-ish years you've been at high school in Colorado, you have turned us on our heads. You run yourself ragged but still go on with a smile.
I know that you and I aren't always as close as we could be but I want you to always remember that I love you with all of my heart. If you ever doubt it, just know that you are straight up wrong. You're an unstoppable force and I will always be there for you if you start to crash. I'll always have your back. I am forever on your side when you're backed against a wall.
At this most pivotal time in your life, there's a quote that's used a lot but I think is so crucial you take to heart (you've probably heard it). In the last stanza of the poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, it says: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
What I want you to take from this is that you don't ever have to follow what is popular or what everyone thinks you should do. You must discern for yourself the best road for you. We all love you so much and only want the best for you but that doesn't mean we're always right. You must look in yourself and use that big, beautiful brain you've got in your head to decide what you must do.
The paths are diverging, Baby Sis. The time to decide how you will live and who you will be is now, but fear not! Like I said and I'll continue to say, I'll always be right beside you. It's a big scary world out there but you need not face it alone. We're in this together, through the end, forever and always.
Baby Sis, I love you more than words and I hope that you have the best 18th birthday in the history of forever! If there's anyone deserving, its you! I hope all your birthday wishes come true and that you always stay true to the amazing girl that you are and the amazing woman you're becoming every day.
Love Always and Forever, Your Biggest Sis
