M.F.T. #17: My Sister, Kara.

Saturday, my sister had her graduation ceremony from her Physician Assistant Program at South College here in Knoxville, TN. My entire family was here for the celebration and it was a lovely weekend commemorating Kara's HUGE accomplishment. Master Kara, as I now refer to her since she holds a masters degree that gives her a bunch of fancy letters behind her name, has worked incredibly hard the last 2+ years and all the stress and sleep-deprivation has finally paid off now that she has walked across this stage!

Kara {and all her accomplishments!} are my favorite thing #17. Kara is only a year and a half older than me and while we spent a good portion of our childhood with a line of duct tape down the middle of the room we shared, teenage years with a lock on her closet so I "wouldn't steal her clothes!" and college years not on speaking terms (sad but true.) she has been my rock and the one thing consistent in my life from the time I was born. If I had to compile a list of all the things I needed to thank her for, I would start by thanking her for teaching me how to read. Thank you for holding my hand on the first day of school when Mom sent me to kindergarten at the age of 4. Thank you for cooking Mac 'n Cheese for me after school + thank you for paving a shiny, yellow brick road for me to follow down.

It was because of Kara I joined leadership and Interact, a committee for community service, in high school. It was because of Kara I joined the medical academy that led me to my wonderful career. It was because of Kara I applied for every scholarship my senior year... and won them all. Just like she did the year before!

Kara kept herself incredibly busy in university juggling a full-time job, a full course load and an insanely busy social life but she managed to allot the hours she would normally reserve for studying/sleeping to get involved! She spent her weekends at Camp Boggy Creek, helping kids with special needs! She spearheaded a campaign to get more students to become organ donors and she helped out with the March of Dimes, too!

Getting in to a PA program is incredibly competitive and I was sooo proud of her when she got accepted 2 summers ago! Obtaining a degree at a graduate level is soo hard. It's very demanding and very stressful how quickly they move through the material. Once she survived the didactic portion of her program with flying colors, she excelled in her clinical portion this last year wowing the faculty with her superb skills!

Combining school with pregnancy and then with a newborn is something only Kara would be organized enough to handle + I'm soo proud of all of her accomplishments!!! I never thought after high school that we would ever get the chance to be roommates again but I'm so excited to stay with her (and Creed and Reese!) these next couple of months.  I couldn't be prouder of who she has become and I'm lucky to have her as my first friend. my best friend. my sister!