Assignment 4- Madison Underwood- If Only My Sister Loved to Read

Growing up, I was a very independent and (what I would like to believe) overall good kid. My parents never had to reprimand me for breaking the rules because I never did. I was the kid always eager to help, always ready to volunteer and always trying to learn more. My parents never had to remind me or force me to do my homework because I always did it, nor did they have to get on me for much anything else. My sister on the other hand, is not like me in the slightest. She is a known procrastinator and very shy. She's incredibly bright but doesn't push herself. Kids see everything as black and white, right or wrong. So growing up I could not figure out for the life of me why when I did something "bad" I received a different punishment than my sister. It wasn't until I was older did I realize that it's because we are different people- taking away my sister's books leaves her unscathed, while taking away my books leaves me emotionally distraught. This past year, my parents have started implementing the laissez-faire style of parenting that I was accustomed to on my sister, and it left me rather frustrated. I started to question my mom's decisions of letting my sister drop out of the gifted program at Ashland and of not pushing her to join more clubs at school or read more books. I couldn't stand to see my sister, someone who is so smart and has so much potential for academic greatness, fall behind in her classes. I questioned why my parents weren't intervening more on her school-life. While I am fully aware that she will never share my love for school, I at least want her to find what she is good at and let that interest her. In the end, I voiced my concerns to my mom, who reaffirmed what I already knew- my sister and I are different people. Yet, after hours of contemplation, I still believe that in order for my parents to set my sister up for success in the future, they need to push her now.