12/52

A portrait a week, every week, in 2013.

—Ruth

One of the best things about having an older sister is getting to hang out with her friends. I never laugh more, learn as much or have so much fun as I do when I’m hanging out with them. Growing up I thought Aoife’s gang from school were the most glamorous and funny people in the whole world. They could paint nails and put on mascara and they always wore the coolest clothes (in hindsight this wasn’t exactly true, these girls were teenagers in the nineties…eep!). 

Ruth and Aoife went to school together when they were young and have stayed friends ever since. Ruth’s mum used to love my little curls so much that one time my mum cut one off a put it into a little box for her to keep. It sounds creepy now but it was really sweet at the time.
Since then both Aoife and Ruth have grown up and moved on…Ruth to London and Aoife around the world and back again. Lucky for us London isn’t too far and we get to see Ruth all the time, both here and there. Ruth never makes me feel like a little sister, or annoying tag-along (which I am sure I have been on many an occasion) and is the kind of person who listens carefully and asks questions eagerly. Chatting to Ruth is the loveliest, she and my family have had many conversations standing in the kitchen, drinking wine, while we all make dinner. Ruth is like a second sister to all of my siblings, she fits in seamlessly, joking and teasing along. We all love her dearly.