Back in middle school, I used to stay after school, and many of the other kids who were staying after school with me would get picked up by their older brothers or sisters.

It looked so nice having an older sibling. Don’t get me wrong, I have an older sibling: a brother, actually. But he was doing his own thing, and he was finished with school. Most days at school, when everyone would talk about their older or younger siblings, and everybody would go on and on, I just kept it simple and talked about my only brother.

I wanted to be somebody’s older sibling; I wanted a little sister more than anything.

My parents are separated and they each found a new spouse down the road, so there was no hope of them giving me a little sister. Some nights, I would spend the night at my dad’s house and he would take me to school the next morning. One day after school my dad introduced me to his girlfriend when I was in 4th or 5th grade.

She was pretty, had nice, curly hair, and she was so nice to me. Eventually, they got married.

I always told my dad I wanted a little sister. I wanted a little sister because she can always count on me, we can have girl talks, I can drive her around, we can go shopping together, we could do everything together really. Most importantly, she can always look up to me.

Knowing you have somebody that looks up to you is one of the greatest things. My dad always told me that I’ll have a sister one day, and if I ever had a little sibling, be accepting of the gender. Of course, I was going to be okay with the gender.

One night, my dad, his wife, and I were at dinner, just catching up on things, and my dad brought up all the times I mentioned how desperately I wanted a little sister. He told me my stepmom hadn’t been feeling like herself lately and she had been feeling sick.

My dad then told me how she was pregnant. At the time, I didn’t know what all of it meant because I was young. I just knew I finally had a sibling on the way.

I was thrilled. I went to hug them both and tears started coming out of their eyes.

A couple of months after the big announcement, my dad told me I had a little sister on the way. Oh gosh, was I screaming. I was so happy, I just kept thinking about all the things we could do together.

My wish had finally been granted.

February 1, 2012, is the day my life changed.

February 1, around 2 in the morning, my dad called my mom and told her I had to go with him to the hospital because my little sister was here. On the way to the hospital, I kept asking my dad, “Does she look like me?” or “When is she gonna be walking?”

I had so many questions. We finally arrived at the hospital and were on our way to the room. When we got there, my stepmom was holding my little sister in this white blanket. I honestly couldn’t believe it. My dad told me to wash my hands and sit down so I could hold her. She was so little and precious.

As of today, my sister is 9 years old, and she is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I have so much fun with her, I see her whenever I can, especially since I’m dealing with school and work. We go for ice cream once in a while, make TikToks, and have playdates.

We talk on the phone every day and still to this day, it’s hard to believe that I actually have a sister.

I’m somebody’s older sibling.

I love her with everything in me.