Making Yourself Happy

The day my little my little sister, Ashley, move out of my dads will be a memory that I will never forget. The courage she had to stand up to my dad and step mom made me look up to her for the first time. It was this summer, she had just gotten back from being at the beach with my aunt and I for about a month. Ashley is usually very conservative about her feelings and is always worried about hurting others.
This summer I think she learned that it was time to make herself happy and to stop worrying about what my parents would think. My aunt had never really knew how we felt about our step mom and when she found out the truth it broke her heart to see how much pain we had been through. My parents divorce had always been a touchy subject for Ashley and I to talk about to our family. Once we found out my aunt had open ears to us, our feelings just seemed to pour out. We had a lot of tears shed this summer at our beach house but we learned so much about ourselves.
Ashley and I love our dad dearly and would do anything for him but for the past couple years it didn't seem like he would do the same for us if our step mom was involved. A week before we went to the beach Ashley had asked my dad to sign these certain papers for college; Ashley's dream for school was to graduate a year early and to go to Johnson and Whales but my step mom was not in favor so she told my dad to not sign to early release papers for Ashley.
Ashley was devastated by this and when she told my aunt she felt the same. My aunt always has uplifting thoughts and words to say on just about any subject. So when Ashley and I brought up the idea of moving out to her, she couldn't of been more supportive. She told us how to break the news to my dad and how she thought he would handle the news because she knew he would be a wreck after. Throughout our time at the beach my aunt, sister, and I had talked about pretty much everything. It was so refreshing to know that Ashley and I always had someone to talk to about my parents and any growing pains.
Two days before Ashley went back home I went up to my old hometown in Massachusetts to visit family and friends. It was then that I decided that I wanted to move up there. Without discussing with me, Ashley assumed that Dad would be able to handle me moving out and on my own but not me moving out of my dads into my moms and then moving to Massachusetts. So Ashley decided that she would be the one to take the leap and move out of my dads. She told my dad and step mom as soon as she got back from the beach. She said that they were so mad that they told her she could never move back.
The pain and rejection that she will have to deal with for many years from dad and my step mom says it will be worth it. She is going to be able to live her dreams without and hesitation or judgement. She is waiting to see if she has gotten accepted to Johnson and Whales but there's no doubt in my mind that she won't. Ashley is growing into such a great person and I couldn't be more proud to be her sister. If there's one thing Ashley and I have learned this summer it's that we have to make ourselves happy because it's our life and our dreams.