Since meeting my Little Sister Janice, my life has honestly been better. I love that when I pick her up, she’s excited to come hang out with me—even when we don’t have anything special planned. Sometimes we’re just talking, laughing, or running around the city, and that’s more than enough.
We really connected over our shared love of Asian culture. I lived in Japan, so I get to share those experiences with her, and in return she teaches me about the things she loves—especially K‑pop. It feels like a real exchange. One of my favorite moments was surprising her at Christmas with a trip to a huge Asian market. She was so excited to explore and pick out whatever she wanted (within a budget, of course), and seeing her joy made the whole day.
She’s incredibly funny and keeps me laughing with her impressions of teachers and friends. Recently, we went to our first ballet together provided by Big Brothers Big Sisters. Afterward, she told me it was “amazing,” and I loved seeing her experience something completely new and enjoy it.
We’ve started a tradition of trying different boba places around the city and ranking them—so far we’re at eight.
She’s only a freshman, but we’ve talked a little about what she might want to do after high school, and we even visited Café College together. I’m not focused on pushing the future right now. This first year has really just been about getting to know each other and earning that trust over time. I’ve gone to one of her soccer games and plan to go to more.
Her parents have been amazing from the beginning and have truly treated me like part of the family. Recently, her mom even called to wish me a happy birthday, which meant a lot to me.
We hit six months as a match on January 26, 2026, and I’m really looking forward to whatever shenanigans we get into next. I signed up to be a mentor, but I’ve gotten so much out of this too.
-Big Sister Anika