There were times in my life when I could have gladly and cheerfully wrapped my hands around her throat and strangled her. However, there were also those other times, those precious times, when she sat by me and wiped my tears away while telling me that everything was going to be okay. My older sister Van has always been someone that I’ve needed in my life. She is currently 17, a senior at Eastlake High School, and this is her last year before she goes off to college and to different adventures I’ll no longer be a part of. Van, or as I fondly call her, Titi, is shorter than I am despite her being older, with long, black hair, and intelligent eyes. She’s rather petite and easier to smile instead of frown.
I can easily remember a time when we were just little kids and so fascinated with the mysteries of make-up and beauty secrets. We waited patiently until our mother went off to school and snuck into her room to play with her cosmetics. We smeared lipstick all over ourselves and put blush on our foreheads. After doing so, we pranced around in our mother’s high heels and told ourselves and each other that we were sophisticated grown-ups. Of course, we had no idea how to apply make-up so we ended up smashing the delicate tips of my mother’s lip sticks, and since we also had no idea how to put on blush, my older sister and I left quite a bit scattered all over the carpet. When my mother came home and discovered the absolute mess we made and the utter destruction of her make up, well, she was very angry. However, before I could properly burst into tears and look as pathetic as possible, Titi spoke up quite bravely and said that it was she who had spilled the blush and accidentally smashed the lip sticks. Me, being the selfish little kid that I was, allowed her to shoulder all the blame. I do sort of feel guilty today when I think about it, but mostly I just feel this deep sense of appreciation for my sister. Thinking of that little incident so many years ago reminds me that my older sister is always there to protect me.
Titi, while not a whiz in English, is pretty astute when it comes to math. It just seems to be one of those things that come easily to her. On the other hand, I excel more in English then I do in math, a fact that I’ve always bemoaned. Last year, when I was in Intermediate algebra, I had a teetering grade that was on the brink of an A- and B+. The one thing that would determine my grade, my future, was the upcoming chapter test. Unfortunately for myself, the concepts of the chapter was completely eluding me and while I struggled hard to comprehend everything, the math was just not sticking in my head. So there I was, a day before the deciding test, and I was completely struggling while I tried to study. The frustration of it all was welling up in me, and I felt as if I were about to pop from the pressure. I finally just groaned and threw my hands up, while I told no one in particular that I was, “Giving up!”.
My sister looked up from where she had been doing her own homework and asked me what was wrong. I told her in an angry tone that math was stupid and who cared about a stupid lousy grade anyway. Titi had just kind of smirked at me and wandered to where I sat and looked over my shoulder. After seeing the kind of material that I was trying to learn, she pointed out a few tricks that I could use that would help me figure out the math problems. I questioned her about a few other things, and before I knew it, she was sitting down next to me and tutoring me in the chapter. We must have spent an hour going over my math, and needless to say, I got a satisfactory grade on the test. I can’t remember if I ever thanked her for it, but thinking about it now instills a great sense of gratitude in me, gratitude that my older sister definitely deserves.
Titi has always been a hard worker. She studies for hours and doggedly finishes her work, often times staying up very late at night. However, despite her hard work, sometimes she doesn’t win every game she plays. Although I wouldn’t exactly call the SATs a game, they were something that put up an extremely large obstacle on my sister’s way to success. Her first time taking those SATs, she didn’t get a very satisfactory score, something that made her get into gear and study like a demon. Titi bought a three inch thick study book and would sit for hours while she took SAT practice tests. By the time the second SATs rolled around, she was prepared and ready to tackle them once more. This time, she came out the victor with an amazing improvement on her score. Her extraordinary feat especially inspired and impressed me. The fact that she so greatly improved gave me hope for when I was to take my SATs. Titi showed me how hard work and dedication can affect a person and the outcomes of their actions. She made me see how important it is to study and to study hard. Titi’s SAT score improvement inspired me to work harder at my schoolwork and to definitely try harder.
Yes, my sister is my protector, my savior, the one person I know I can always depend on. My sister Van/Titi has always been a big part of my life, and without her I really don’t know where I would be today. She’s inspired me to be better, inspired me to work harder, and inspired me to be myself, which is all I really need. My sister is just one of those people who will go through life affecting everyone she knows, just like she has affected me.
