“Congratulations, class of 2009. You did it!” I watched as my sister and hundreds of other graduates threw their caps into the blue sky. They hugged, cried and said goodbye to the city they had been confined to for four years.

I was not pleased to be at UW- Madison’s graduation. My mom made me come to watch my sister, Rachel. Rachel didn’t work hard but success came to her. Graduating with high honors from one of the most prestigious schools with a double major in psychology and Spanish, you could call her amazing. Her success is forever on-going and she is unstoppable in everything she does.
I’m glad Rachel has accomplished everything she wanted to, but I live underneath her success. My best isn’t as good as Rachel’s average. I study for hours and have to settle with a B, while Rachel doesn’t study and receives ‘A’s.
When I see a C on my report card, I disappoint my parents like if I had a crazy party without their permission. When I receive a B, it is like I was caught drinking. An A- is almost good enough. And an A seems to be the only acceptable grade to my parents—because they have never had to look at a report card with anything less.
I continue to strive for perfect, always chasing Rachel’s success. But it never comes like it came for her. Living underneath Rachel, I work harder. Rachel doesn’t try hard for her success. Most of the time it seems it’s being handed to her like candy on Halloween. She opens another door and she’s greeted by more success. I open another door and receive more challenges and obstacles to overcome.
I try harder to become the person I want to be because of Rachel. Success may be more difficult for me to reach, but I know one day I’ll be able to stand next to her and feel equal. I’ll be the one someone looks up to, just like I look up to Rachel.