Thanks for the letter you gave me on the day I graduated. I emailed you back a reply, but I feel like I need to send you a real letter back. Since I can’t give you this myself, I’m going to send it to your house.

Dear Taylor,

Thanks for the letter. I’m finally 15! I’m finally going to be in high school! If you were in my grade, things would have been so much more fun.


Taylor, you are my favorite junior. You are my favorite little sister. Do you remember how we met? If you love my twin brother, we wouldn’t be this close. I thought you were cute. Then I found out that you were the only girl on the basketball team. I thought you were a tough girl. You would email me everyday and tell me about what happened. You told me what you liked and what you hated. You and my twin didn’t go too well, but nothing really changed between us. It was like we were the same age. I would almost forget you were younger sometimes. Our school is strict about juniors and seniors. I know. If I were you, I would be afraid to get this close to a senior. It’s a weird rule yes, but I guess it is important to respect the elder.

You listen to my thoughts and you told me all you knew, you never left my side. You counted on me, and I was always there. We were like sisters. We are sisters. You know, I think meeting you changed my life. I’m a lot stronger, emotionally, and we’ve taught each other many things. People around us wonder why we’re this close. I would always shrug and say, we’re sisters.

You came to see my last game. The game we lost. The game I hated and regretted the most. You saw me, sinking in to the ground, crying all the tears I had. You came over to hug me, and said this.

“I’ll keep your dream alive. This was your last game, but I have a lot more coming up. This is the first time I’m not mad at myself for being a year younger. I’ll work hard, hard enough to dry your tears. Everything comes to an end at some point. You knew that from the beginning of your life. I’ll never know your frustration or regret, but I know that another door will open. When one door closes, another opens.”

You said a lot more, but if I continue writing I’ll probably finish all of the trees in my area, so I’ll go on.

I never said this to you but, I don’t see you as a junior. I think I could really be your older sister. So please don’t look at me like I’m a senior. And don’t call me with “Miss” in front of my name. I’m just your plain old sister.
Your gonna be the oldest grade in middle school! I bet you’re excited. Have fun! Laugh your heart out! Of course, don’t forget to study. Make good friends, and meet me again in high school.

We’re gonna have a lonely year, but I’m gonna go over to your building as much as I can, and we’re gonna hang out a lot! Our next year might be cloudy, and we don’t know what’s gonna happen. But I think God’s smile is shining on us.

Taylor,
Thank you for smiling all the time, and laughing when I really need you to.
Thank you for being there, with me through my worries. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for being nice to me. Thank you for cheering me up when I’m blue. Thank you for crying with me. Thank you for always being there.

Thank you for everything you did for me and thank you for being here now.

If something bad happens, if somebody makes you cry or mad, call me. Put me on your speed dial. I’ll listen to everything you have to say. Tell me about stuff that nobody would even care about. I’ll be more than happy to listen.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. -1 Corinthians 10:13

You are very important to me.

Please promise me you will follow me. I’ll be waiting for you, and we’ll both be fine.
Just one year apart. And then things will be perfect again.

Love,
your sister.

Dreaming isn’t the same as dreaming a dream. Always remember that you have the right to dream about your future to make it brighter. I love you.