Being away from you at school this month has made me miss you more than ever, and cherish the many amazing things that you did for me over the summer. While I love being close to you, I also love watching you grow and progress as a young women from afar. Since I don�t see you every day, when I do see you it�s so much more meaningful. I see your changes much more prominently when I go two weeks without seeing you. And you truly are changing. Every time I talk to you, I see more and more traces of your new found maturity. You are at a very important and impressionable age. Teenagers can be so easily influenced, both for good and bad. Every time I see how you fight off the bad influences, I am more proud of you.
My favorite thing about you, though, is how much of your own person you are. When Shakespeare said �Above all else, to thine own self be true�� he was wasting his breath on you. You never let other people change who you are. You stand up for you beliefs, even when you are the only person who believes in them. That�s a special quality that so few posses, especially people your age. And as I always tell you, always accept people for who they are, but never compromise yourself to make someone else happy.
I still find it so interesting that when you heard about my car accident, you weren't worried. When you told me that you knew I would be alright, even though you didn't know anything about the severity of the accident, I understood immediately. I've always thought we had a very special connection. Even though you were four hours away, you knew I was alright. You know when I'm hurting, physically or emotionally, even before I tell you. And your advice, whether helpful or just supportive, never fails to help me see the light in my darkest situations. Even when you say "I don't know what to tell you," I feel better after letting you hear my feelings, because I know you understand me and will never judge me.
And after my wreck, when I spent so much time in Columbia, I had on of those times of hurting, physically and emotionally. I wouldn't have been able to get through it with you. I didn't have to explain what was wrong. I didn't have to tell you how scared I was, or what I needed. You didn't ask questions about the accident or press about my feelings. When I panicked or got stressed out, you urged me to calm down without reprimanding me. I still feel like you are often the "older sister," even though you're so much younger. You take care of me in ways that you will never know. I can only pray that I am as much of a good influence on you as you are on me.
I guess the best way to wrap this letter up is to say something that I've been dreading saying. Know that if I ever leave you, I'll still be with you. If God ever decides that it's time for me to go, it's not because he wants us to be apart, but because he needs us to be apart. Remember that life can be taken away, but love can't. Memories will never leave us; the impact that we have on other people never leave us. Every single day, for the rest of eternity, I will be proud of you, whether I'm here to tell you that or not. You will always be my rock, my strength, and my Beth, no matter how far apart we are. And, remember, as Harry Potter taught us, the ones we love never truly leave us. I will always be inside of your heard, and I will always love you.

Love,
Hannah...Jo...
"Somethings will never die...the promise of you and I..."

When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, nothing stands a chance against us.