A little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

Last night I found myself in a massive deja-vu from this exact time last year. This time there was not as much crying, but maybe it's because I had the experience from last year under my belt, and the knowledge that it's not forever. My little sister Megan was headed back to Brown University in Rhode Island for her sophomore year, and I was staying here in good ol' Cali. The hugs, the laughs, the "I'm gonna miss you so muuuccchhh"s were all the same.

While going off to college and moving away are totally natural things, this parting of sisters is massively distressing. Not just for us, but for our parents and our friends. My best friends and my boyfriend have to endure me whining about how much I miss my sister, and then I have to listen to them moan back because they miss her too. Last year I saw her four times - Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break and summer. But I know how college works, and I know that as the years goes on, those visits home will dwindle to just Christmas, if I'm lucky.

Megan and I are 100% different. Not only are our physical appearances different, our personalities are almost night and day of each other. We're the classic, successful example of opposites attract. Her wicked sense of humor, independence and free spirit keep me laughing and alive, and my good sense, ambition and understanding keep her grounded. Despite our differences, we have been best friends our entire lives. Maybe it was the convenience factor of living together that made us bond, or maybe it was the fact that my parents instilled the ideal of having your sister as your best friend so early on that it made sense. Nonetheless, Megan and I would spend hours upon hours as kids making up scenarios with beanie babies that made little to no sense, driving our barbies around in their red Mustang convertible, or making up dances to our favorite songs and performing them for our family, while mainly consisted of me making up the dances and instructing little, blonde Megan what to do. Regardless, every plane flight, every long car ride, every short car ride and every family event was way too much fun because my sister was there to keep me insane.

Now that I've finished college and she's almost halfway done, not much has changed in our relationship. Watching her come to me for advice, or telling me a big piece of news before she tells Mom or Dad makes it so incredibly easy to forget those few years when our relationship had taken a dive into the teenage moodiness of high school and resulted in petty fights, competition, bossiness and jealousy. Ask us about it now, and we'll barely even remember.

As I'm saying goodbye once again, I'm able to withold my sadness just a little bit more than last time because I know she'll be back. Even though it'll be 4 months instead of 2, it's not time that makes our relationship stay and grow. It's us, with a little bit of help from Facebook, Skype, and the iPhone. Each time she leaves, her coming back is just a little bit sweeter. Once she graduates, she'll come back to Cali because everyone here might disown her if she doesn't. Just a little incentive. :)

We're so blessed, and we both finally know it and appreciate it. And that's a bond even the span of an entire country can't break.

C.