姐妹情深

I hope your junior year has been going well (or at least as well as junior year can go), as I mainly get glimpses of the “goings” of you, 妈妈, and 爸爸 through the family group chat. I’ve enjoyed hearing about your daily occurrences in those texts. Peering into these daily snippets makes me feel like an onlooker. I’m no longer in high school as you are, and I’m definitely not in X. So hearing about your physics test or listening to you condemn Will for his indolence has felt undescribable. I’m assuming you’re on Kairos right now, and I hope that you’ve been having fun being away from school. I remember being stressed about Kairos since I was anxious about school work and other things; however, Kairos proved to be a moment of necessary rest. My perspective of the world shifted beyond the realm of school walls, as I remembered there was more than my upcoming tests or homework.

Unless you’ve suddenly had a “God moment” in Kairos, I’m going to assume you aren’t

interested in hearing me talk about religion, so instead I’ll talk about other things. Firstly, you should call me sometime over fall recess–the 9th and the 10th of October–to catch me up on your life. I saw your homecoming pictures and you looked a little bit more grown than before. I don’t really know in what ways: maybe it was your arms or your face, but you looked a little more like time had passed, and it surprised me. I’m not sure why I felt so surprised, considering that yes, time would pass–is passing.

I hope you’ve been reading other letters before mine–letters where people have been singing their praises to your character. I won’t let myself be the outlier here. I’ve mentioned you many times, maybe even too many times to friends here in college. I’d say if someone knows me, there comes a point where they learn of my little sister. Whether talking about how you playedProject Sekai or sharing The Sundays to a new acquaintance, you still find ways to slip into my day to day. I consider you someone who is very centered about what they want. You don’t get caught in desperate academic approval or in other tumultuous self-worth issues some people get caught up in, since I think you can recognize what makes you happy in life. I consider that a very special thing. And I always value your opinion. It means more to me than most people’s

opinions combined.

I’m glad to see you got your driver’s license, and I hope you take advantage of that new

freedom (within reason of course, but I’m not really concerned about you being unreasonable and reckless). I also hope my time away from you has helped you discover more about yourself. I feel like maybe living within the same house, we’ve been bound to each other inseparably (not just by blood), so maybe your own identity has become more solidified with me being in college. You’ll have to tell me if you feel that’s true or not, but it’s something I just considered. Not that

you shadowed me or I shadowed you or we eclipsed each other or anything, just that I think we’ve been known together for most of our lives. And junior to senior year of high school, you undergo some things that are definitely “coming of age.

” Bildungsroman if you will. Overall, I hope you enjoy your Kairos. It must be beautiful since it’s fall! Please catch me up on your life when you find the time. I want to hear all the unimportant things and important things

that have been going on for you and 妈妈 and 爸爸.

Love,