10/11/2026
THE STORY | #04
I Don’t Think She Knows How Cool She Is
This photograph is of me and my oldest sister, Maricella.
I believe this was taken in Laredo, Texas, my dad’s hometown, sometime in the summer of 1993.
I was about five.
My sister was around 17 or 18.
And one detail I learned from talking to her that makes this photograph even more special is that my dad took this picture.
He was always documenting us.
And here he was again, standing behind the camera, capturing a moment between his two daughters.
Because I was so young, I don’t remember much about this particular trip. This photograph might actually be the only proof I have that I was even there.
So I did what I’ve been doing with these old photographs lately…
I asked my sister.
She told me this was a summer vacation my dad took our immediate family on to Laredo. My dad was so proud of his hometown. He loved taking us there, and I remember going several times growing up.
She remembered this particular trip much better than I did.
She told me there were some personal things she was going through at the time—things I obviously had no idea about at my young age.
But she said this trip gave her a break from whatever she was dealing with.
For a little while, she got to just be a kid.
She remembers things they heard on the local radio that made them laugh, things my dad did that became funny memories, and spending the day at the market shopping.
Then they went to a restaurant my dad liked to visit.
And what was he eating?
Cabrito. Baby goat. 😂
Apparently, my dad didn’t realize how expensive that meal was going to be.
And I’m pretty sure that’s where his famous “Go easy on me” came from.
Because years later, whenever he’d take us somewhere to eat, he’d remind us to go easy on him or make sure we finished what we ordered.
😂
But as funny as those memories are, that’s not really why I love this photograph.
I love it because my sister and I both love this picture. It’s our favorite 💙🖤
We were looking at the exact same photograph from two completely different places in life.
I was five.
She was almost 18.
And I think the older I get, the more I realize how little that five-year-old girl knew about the woman sitting beside her.
Because my sister was and always has been smart.
She was involved in so many clubs in high school. She maintained a high GPA. She graduated and went on to college.
She’s performed karaoke and ballroom dancing in front of hundreds of people—something I honestly don’t know if I would ever have the confidence to do.
And that’s the part that makes me think…
Girl, do you realize who you are?
Because I know she has struggled with confidence.
I’ve heard her talk about self-esteem and the ways she hasn’t always seen herself the way other people see her.
But when I look at her life, I see something completely different.
I see a woman who did things that required courage. And it’s not even the liquid kind! 😂
A woman who put herself out there.
A woman who stood in front of hundreds of people and performed.
A woman who worked hard in school.
A woman who challenged herself.
A woman who kept going even during seasons when she didn’t necessarily feel confident.
That’s the part of her that I think is the coolest.
Not the ’80s music.
Not the Dirty Dancing references.
Not even the New Kids on the Block obsession. 😂
Although… those definitely help.
She’s cool because she has done things that I don’t know if I would have the courage to do.
And that’s something we don’t talk about enough.
Sometimes the people who struggle the most with confidence are doing incredibly brave things.
They just don’t always recognize the bravery because they’re too busy looking at everything they think they lack.
But I get to look at my sister from the outside.
And I see it.
I see the girl in this photograph.
I see the teenager she became.
I see the woman she is now.
And I see all the things she’s accomplished along the way.
And I wish I could go back to that five-year-old version of me sitting beside her and tell her:
“You have no idea how blessed you are to have this woman as your big sister.”
Because she has been the best sister a girl could ask for.
And maybe my dad knew that too.
Maybe that’s part of why he picked up the camera.
Maybe he just saw his daughters sitting together and thought, I want to remember this.
More than 30 years later, that little decision gave my sister and me something we could look at together.
Something we could laugh about.
Something we could remember.
And something that reminded me that the people we love don’t always see themselves the way we see them.
So, Maricella, if you ever read this:
I hope you know how cool I think you are. Top shelf.
Not because you grew up in the ’80s.
Not because you introduced me to ’80s music.
Not because Dirty Dancing makes me think of you.
Not even because you’re my big sister.
But because I’ve watched you do things that required courage, intelligence, determination, and confidence—even during times when you didn’t necessarily feel confident.
That’s the real you.
And that’s the girl I see when I look at this photograph.
My big sister.
My ’80s icon.
The woman who doesn’t always realize just how amazing she is.
And this little five-year-old girl sitting beside her?
That little girl is blessed. 🤍
I know that now.
And that’s the thing I want to remember most from this photograph.
Sometimes the people we love don’t see in themselves what we see in them.
So tell them.
While you can.
Tell your sister she’s beautiful.
Tell your brother he’s important.
Tell your parents what they mean to you.
Tell your friends you appreciate them.
Because sometimes a photograph can preserve a moment…
but words can preserve what that person meant to you. 🤍📸
