Hats off to Emily!

Last night I decided that on a family or friend's birthday I'm going to dedicate a post entirely to them and I will start today with dedicating this post to my sister Emily. She is 16 today and it's quite frightening to me to realize that she can date now. AH! I'm not really sure how to respond to this; it doesn't seem like Emily should ever be old enough to date. It's bizarre for me to realize that Emily and I are both on the market now! I think it's the mentality of an older sibling that says "You'll always be the older one and your younger siblings will never be as old as you." I don't know if that makes sense entirely but I'm sure you older siblings out there can empathize.

Emily and I have always been pretty close, but we still have those sisterly spats most sibling relationships have. However despite our occasional tiff, I think we are best friends. Our relationship has grown more over the past few years as we've both grown up quite a bit. It's easier to think of your sister as your friend after you've grown up a little. We share many of the same friends and we like to do the same things. We're both homebodies and we both love spending time with family. While we are very similar in many ways we both still have our own style and personality. We complement each other in numerous respects and I love how support each other.

I admire Emily in many ways. I wrote a scholarship essay about Emily and one of her traits I admire. I don't have it available right now, but I'll post it once I do. I love her love of service. She is always looking for some way to help another and doesn't shirk responsiblity. She is dedicated to the things she loves: family, learning, music, and the Gospel. She knows who she is and she has a strong testimony. Emily knows how to have fun and she's good at involving others in her fun. Emily is an amazing sister and friend and I love her. (Once I figure out how to post pictures I'll post one of Emily!)