Kirsten. My Weedle Seester. Though, these days, she's not 'weedle' by age anymore. Nope, we are both all grown up now. But she will always be 'weedle' to me. Though, I will admit that she continues to amaze me with her maturity and I often feel like I might be the younger one. I mean, this is the girl who started saving her paper route money when she was like 10, put it in a high-yield CD once she had saved $2500, and all with the intent of buying a Mazda Miata when she was old enough. Pretty darn enterprising for such a young girl. Me, not so much. I mean, I was enterprising, but in other ways. She, on the other hand, has always had a knack for finding good situations and - not for lack of trying - gets herself into them with a certain amount of grace that many people would and should admire.

When we were young, the age difference was enough to keep us from playing together much. We are 6 years apart, which is eons to young children. We didn't even remotely have the same friends, give for those people who had siblings that matched us in age. And her being a girl and all - ooh, cooties! - and me being a boy, well... we were just plain into different things. We loved each other - no questions asked - but we simply just lived our seperate lives. Every now and again, we would hang out, but not enough to really bond as brother and sister. This has been one of my biggest and only regrets in life.

The later years were even worse I think... I think that I probably really embarassed her. I was definitely a punk. "Dare to be Different" was my creedo and yearbook quote, and I lived by it so stringently that there were points when I tried to find the absolute opposite to all situations in my life that I think I often missed the important aspects of what it meant to other people. And she... well, she has always walked the straight and narrow. I think alot of people, specifically in her grade who she was or wanted to be friends with, were excessively condescending, materialistic and often, downright evil people. She had a lot to live up to to stay with the 'in' crowd - something that I never really had any desire to be part of. And deep down insiode, I don't think that she really belonged to that crowd either. She actually cares about other people and their feelings and I really don't think that their social status, what they own or can give her, or the influence they have over anyone else would ever change that. She is not a social climber, but many of these other people are and I think (like, as in, my own personal view of her situation is) that had she taken an approach towards high school that was more like my own - that she would have had a lot more fun there. But such is life, and we can't change the past, no matter how hard we try. And besides, this isn't a disseration on where our shortcomings spawn from, but a description of why (besides the obvious) I live for and would most certainly die for my sister Kirsten. I was, however, approaching a point that I wanted to make - and that's that one of the things I most admire about my sister is that, though she was neck-deep in the myre of teenage angst and the trials of high school cliques - she still managed to emerge sane and surprisingly un-jaded. She went on to live a very successful life in college, bought an apartment in the East Village, and has been successful as a PR person for some major names in the fashion industry. I think that most people who endure such stresses in high school are usually the people who end up befriending shotguns and introducing them to their office buddies. But not my sister.

Another thing I love about my sister is her sarcastic, sardonic wit. She's a smart girl, quick with the pointed comebacks, and always full of great lines and even better reactionary rhetoric. As such, she makes me laugh... a LOT. She is quick to point out laughable idiosyncrasies about people, and it annoys her (in a humorous way) when people are just being stupid. I think Danielle's old, most favorite line, "Whats WROOONG with you???" is equally as well served up by my sister. So, she's funny.. and can also take a joke just as well... which I think is important because, well, as the old addage goes, 'if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?' I think it's important to make jokes, take jokes and try to stay positive about all things in life, and she is among the best of the best - despite the many hard times that have befallen her.

Kirsten is also one of the most independent people, let alone girls I know. I say that not to be sexist, but it's generally easier for guys to be independent because they can defend themselves better and have spent their adolesence practicing fighting, playing rough, fiercely competing and trying to establish a dominant position within their social groups, whereas girls generally don't. Plus, Kirsten is a VERY attractive young lady, which I can imagine might lead someone into more dangerous situations than others. So when she shuffles off to Europe for a year to tour around by herself, or moves to NY and buys her own place and then fixes it up (alot by herself)... I dunno.. that's just kind of cool. I am terribly proud of her and often jealous of her ability to go and just do these things that take the rest of us so much energy to accomplish.

Not last and certainly not least is that Kirsten has been a constant source of inspiration for me. HER artwork is incredible. Though, as many artsits do, she denies it. But it's REALLY good and I love it all. I was especially enamoured by her art exhibit for when she graduated Skidmore. Her "Future Crack Whore" baby bib really just summed it up for me... that dark wit coming out in a unique way and as a piece of art. As simple as it was, it spoke volumes about my sister and her humorous outlook on life. And it inspired me to take a grittier edge to my own artwork - to really stick my neck out and make some stuff that might shock people, yet still inspire them artistically. Furthermore, she is a sculptor - something I have never really gotten the hang of. She has made several really beautiful pieces. She is versed in so many techniques and so good at them all... I really can't say enough good about it and her.

Regardless, she is my sister and yes, by that connection, I am supposed to love her. But despite the fact that we still only really see each other on major holidays, or on the occasional visit here and there, she is still and will always be a huge part of my life. I tell the tales of her many great adventures and exploits to all of my friends whenever the occasion arises. I think about her all the time and wonder how she is doing. I use her inspiration all the time to help me through my hard times, and my artistic exploits. And she has always been there for me in my darkest hours and hardest moments to deal with. She is the best sister a guy like me could ask for and I am both blessed and lucky as all get-out to have her as mine.