by Leanna Hicks '16

You know that moment when you're trying to think of that perfect topic to write about and then in a second you strike gold? That happened to me this morning folks, so here we go! Being here at Catawba, I have quickly built relationships that I know will last me a lifetime, but the one relationship in my life that has been constant and I cherish more than anything is the relationship I have with my sister. (Insert pause so you can grab a tissue)

Seventeen years ago today, my sister was born and, to this day, that was the happiest day of my life. Most of my friends all through school were shocked whenever they saw me willingly hanging out with my sister instead of people my own age. I'm sure some smarty-tarty doctor somewhere would venture to say our relationship and how close we are is unhealthy in some ways, but we decide not listen to that guy! My sister and I have been through a lot together, good and bad. Through it all, we have stuck together and those moments made us closer and closer.

While I aspire to be an actress, she wants to do everything! No seriously, the girl can do it all. She sings like an angel with some theatre on the side, photographs like a pro, gives Van Gogh a run for his money when it comes to art, cooks with more zest and zeal than Paula Dean, makes you laugh harder than any comedian could, and even thinks about going into some sort of law or crime investigation field... I know, right she really can do all of that! Along with all of these gifts, the one that stands out above all the rest is her compassion and love for other people. While I feel Mary Poppins and I have that one thing in common being "practically perfect in every way".... HA... I have my faults, as all people do, and I tend to be a little more uncompassionate at times. We'll be watching a crime show and the killer in the show gets killed. While any normal person would be relieved the bad guy got his "come-upens", my sister feels sorry for the mass murderer because of his sad back story ... come on, how sweet is that?

All joking aside, there are days where I truly miss my sister while here at college since I went from spending most of my time with her all my life and now we're four and a half hours away from each other, so you can understand how today is a little difficult for me not to be with her. So with that being said, take my sister's example of living her life into your own life. Live life to the fullest with kindness, love and honesty and most importantly compassion. I understand this task can be quite difficult at times, but it is possible to live like my sister and best friend.

I end this post with a shout out to her on, this day, her birthday. May your day be filled with as much love as you have given me and many others around you. Now I must go post happy birthday posts all over Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram and as always, I'll keep you posted!