1. The ability to fall in love with herself first.
All photos via iStock.
2. Many nights spent laughing so hard that she can barely catch her breath.
3. A few true friends who will never abandon her or try to change her.
4. Mentors to learn from who provide a remarkable amount of inspiration.
5. Patience to undergo life’s setbacks.
6. Determination to turn those setbacks into further motivation to follow her dreams.
7. Long car rides and plane trips to wondrous places that will open her eyes to the fascinating and incredible world we live in.
8. People to hold her when I am not there.
9. Late nights.
10. Big dreams.
11. Emotionally riveting experiences.
12. Opportunities to step outside her comfort zone.
13. The strength to stand by her convictions.
14. The bravery to overcome all of the fears and reservations that life will naturally work into her brain.
15. The chance to help others and truly touch the lives of the people in this world who need it most.
16. A few lucky guys along the way who will respect her, be honest with her, adore her, and make her smile.
17. Moments when she can feel invincible.
18. Night swims in the ocean.
19. Concerts that bring music into her chest and rattle her senses.
20. Kisses that make her heart stop.
21. Strong cups of coffee for the long days.
22. Tall glasses of wine for the hard days.
23. A career worth falling in love with.
24. The ability to see how powerful she is as a woman.
25. The understanding that she will always have family to fall back on when life seems to get out of control.
26. Plenty of sass.
27. Enough toughness to fight back and to always stand up for herself.
28. A true understanding of what beauty is and where it really exists.
29. Lots of pizza.
GIF via "Wayne's World"
30. Memories and crazy stories that last a lifetime.
31. A place or city that she can be completely enthralled with, where she can spend many of her days living in that magic.
32. A safe place to call home.
33. A multitude of girls’ nights spent out on the town turning heads — or curled up in pajamas watching Netflix with Ben & Jerry’s.
34. The fortitude to keep moving forward after a few idiots break her heart.
35. The fearlessness needed to fall in love again.
36. Enough cold days to make her appreciate the sunny ones.
37. The time and motivation to continue to indulge in all of her hobbies and interests.
38. People she can call when she is feeling lost (other than me, of course).
39. The wisdom to understand a greater purpose in life.
40. The belief that she never has to rush any stage of her life, and that she should be able to enjoy all of them for the wonders that they each possess.
41. Exposure to some of the world’s unique and time-honored displays of artistic splendor. May she read the greatest novels, witness the most acclaimed theatrical performances, and be moved by remarkable artwork. May she always appreciate their brilliance.
42. Immeasurable moments of pride that she can have in herself and in her accomplishments.
43. The faith needed to be able to sustain any religion of her choice that may give her a sense of purpose and love.
44. People who will teach her new ideas and constantly provide her with new perspectives.
45. Knowledge that intellectually challenges her and inspires a hunger for wisdom inside of her.
46. The wedding she has always dreamed of, which I am sure I will be personally aiding in the production of.
47. A man I can confidently say will love her forever and give her all she needs in this world. A man I can raise my glass to at that reception and give my baby sister away to, knowing that he will be a devoted husband and best friend to the most important thing I have in my life.
48. Little children that look just as beautiful as she is, with big sparkly eyes and hearts of pure gold. May her children grow to see the incredible woman they were blessed with, and go on to spread the amazing joy she will teach them.
49. May they have family movie nights, little soccer games, long days at the amusement parks, Christmas mornings awoken by screams of excitement, tear-filled graduations, and enough hugs and kisses to fill my sister’s heart. May they overcome the hard times and keep each other close. May she raise her children to love each other as much as I love her.
50. My lasting love. May she always understand that I will be here forever. I will be there when she moves into a crappy little apartment — to order pizza and eat it on the empty living room floor. I will be there to plan a ridiculous bachelorette party where we are way too loud and think tequila is a good choice. I will be there to toast to her marriage. I will be there sobbing as I hold my little niece or nephew with more love than I can even comprehend. I will be there when our kids are growing and we have to call each other and laugh at the ridiculous things they do. I will be there through career changes. I will be there as we grow old and start to develop smile lines from our years of laughter. I will be there when we have no one in our family left but the two of us.
I held her in my arms the day she was born, and I will hold her forever. That is my final wish and promise for my remarkable little sister.
This is for all of the sisters out there who are loving and hoping for each other. Sometimes we forget to remind our sisters that we are constantly dreaming for them and for the beautiful life they deserve.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."