Overcoming FINAL

Ambling along the path of life, I find myself walking consistently in the body of a shadow. Not of a building or the sun, but of my older sister. Eldest of four, she has always been the first to try new things, the unfortunate guinea pig. First to enter middle school, first to attend Chinese school, first to take the SAT, first to apply to college. For that, I am forever grateful that I don’t have to be the inexperienced one. Yet, being first comes with the upper hand advantage of setting the bars. And Valerie has set them unbelievably high, so high that it seems beyond my reach. I feel compelled to reach them in order to sustain my pride as I’m the sister right behind her with most of the pressure self-motivated. But with the more opportunities I encounter in high school, the more I discover ways to express myself in a way unique from Valerie, setting myself apart from her. I've realized that reaching expectations and being different can actually exist together; we just need to find our own passions and pursue them with the same standards that our successful siblings had used.

Valerie has always been the perfect student, achieving A’s in AP Classes, receiving 5’s on AP exams, and other notable feats. As a friend, I’ve always felt happy for her. However, as a sister, I fear about my ability to achieve those achievements that I feel obligated to reach. I admire my sister in many ways and embarrassingly, even dream about getting her SAT score. But I want to be different, not just known as that other somewhat “smart sister”. At family gatherings, my relatives always compare me to her. It always seems as if what I’ve accomplished was a mere speck to Valerie’s successes. For a long time, I was frustrated and angry, soon becoming ridiculously intent on emerging from my sister's shadow, to the extent of attempting to not do what she had done. I wasn’t mad at Valerie, for how could I hate her? Because she was better than what I could ever be? No, but angry at the whole situation that seemed to have no real solution. How could I be different from Valerie while still reaching the same standards? I was torn and conflicted between my own boiling emotions of jealousy that threatened to break our sister relationship and my own duty as a sister, to "respectfully follow" after Valerie’s footsteps.

Then I entered high school. Sports, classes, and new friends flooded into my life, and I received them with eager open arms. Different from middle school, more than half of my teachers had never taught Valerie, enabling me to give them an impression that didn’t need a comparison to my sister. Valerie has always set the standards for me as the big sister because those are the standards I should reach, not as a sister but as a hardworking student. Before, I was in a cloud of jealousy and thought that I had to be naturally intelligent to achieve what Valerie had done. Growing up around a much more diverse environment in high school, I saw the differences between people like Valerie who work hard for what they want to those who just don’t put effort in. And I know I can reach them while being unique if I’m determined to get good grades in school and put the effort that’s needed—like Valerie did. There are so many more things that define a person, not just academics and that’s what makes high school so magnificent. With clubs in every room and academic teams around every corner, I grabbed at every opportunity I could get to simply do what I liked! Pursuing our passion exposes everyone’s differences and diversity and really shows just what we are made of. Life truly gives us ways to stand out and shine from everyone else—including your big sister. Ironically, I thought she would push me into her shadow, but instead, I’m now seen as different as can be. Valerie never did sports, yet I’ve now found myself in Girl’s Cross Country and Swim, loving the sports and the people around me every second of the way. I play the viola, but Valerie chose to pursue her interest in high school while I chose another path. Her achievements have become something that motivates me to do better and are an image of what I can be, instead of the other way around. There are still two of my younger sisters behind me and I can already feel the pressure building up for them like I had felt before. But I don’t worry because I know that they’ll soon find their own ways through life. Down the road when we’re all grown up, I’m sure it will be fascinating to see just how far each and every one of us have grown, and how we are all different from each other. But for now, whenever somebody compares me to her, I smile. Because that means I’m doing things right.

Ambling along the path of life, I find myself walking in the body of a shadow. Not of a building or the sun, but of my older sister. Eldest of four, she has always been the first, the unfortunate guinea pig. First to enter middle school, first to attend Chinese school, first to take the SAT, first to apply to college. For that, I am forever grateful that I’m not the inexperienced one. Yet, being first comes with the upper-hand advantage of setting the bars. And Valerie has set them unbelievably high, so high that it seems beyond my reach. I feel compelled to reach them in order to sustain my pride as I’m the sister right behind her. But with the more opportunities I encounter in high school, the more I discover ways to express myself in a way unique from Valerie, setting myself apart from her and the pressure I’ve felt my whole life. I've realized that reaching expectations and being different can actually exist together; we just need to find our own passions and pursue them with the same standards that our successful sibling has used.

Valerie has always been the perfect student, achieving A’s in AP Classes, receiving 5’s on AP exams, and other notable feats. As a friend, I’ve always felt happy for her. However, as a sister, I fear about my obligation to achieve those scores. I admire my sister in many ways and embarrassingly, even dream about getting her SAT score. But I want to be different, not just known as that other somewhat “smart sister”. At family gatherings, my relatives always compare me to her. It always seems as if what I’ve accomplished is a mere speck to Valerie’s successes. For a long time, I was frustrated and angry, soon becoming ridiculously intent on emerging from my sister's shadow, to the extent of attempting to not do what she had done. I wasn’t mad at Valerie, for how could I hate her? Because she was better than what I could ever be? No, but angry at the whole situation that seemed to have no real solution. How could I be different from Valerie while still reaching the same standards? I was torn and conflicted between my own boiling emotions of jealousy and my own, traditional duty as a sister in a Chinese family, to respectfully follow in Valerie’s footsteps.

Then I entered high school. Sports, classes, and new friends flooded into my life, and I received them with eager, open arms. Different from middle school, more than half of my teachers had never taught Valerie, enabling me to give them an impression that didn’t need a comparison to my sister. I realized then, that Valerie has always set the standards for me because those are the standards I should reach, not as a sister but as a hardworking student. Before, I was in a cloud of jealousy and thought that I had to be a genius to achieve what Valerie had done. Growing up around a much more diverse environment in high school, I saw the differences between people like Valerie who work hard for what they want, to those who just don’t put effort in. And if I’m determined to get good grades, I need to invest beyond the effort that’s needed—like Valerie did. You can’t just define a person by academics and that’s what makes high school so magnificent. With clubs in every room and a variety of sports around every corner, grab at every opportunity to simply do what you like! Life truly gives us ways to stand out from everyone else—including your big sister. Ironically, I thought she would push me into her shadow, but instead, I’m now seen as different as can be. Valerie never did sports, yet I’ve now found myself in Girl’s Cross Country and Swim, loving the sports and the people around me every second of the way. I play the viola, but Valerie chose to pursue her interest in high school while I chose another path. Her achievements have become something that motivate me to do better and are an image of what I can be, instead of the other way around. There are still two of my younger sisters behind me and I can already feel the pressure building up for them like I had before. But I don’t worry because I know that they’ll soon find their own ways through life. Down the road when we’re all grown up, I’m sure it will be fascinating to see just how far each and every one of us have grown, and how we are all different from each other. But for now, whenever somebody compares me to her, I smile. Because that means I’m doing things right.