“Every person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.”

I misjudged my older sister. At the age of fifteen or sixteen. I was eleven at the time. She just recently moved from Georgia to California due to some issues to come stay with our Father. I never knew and still to this day know what the reason she left living with her Mother was. Every other weekend I would go to my dad’s house. One weekend my mother dropped me off to my dad’s house. I remember my Step-sister Chantell answer the door.
   

“Hey, Tah!” she said
    “Tah” is my nickname. I know sounds funny huh?
    “Hey Chantell” I said while walking in the house shutting the front door. My dad came walking down the stairs.
    “Aja come say Hi to your sister” he said
    I started to think “Hey that’s my older sister I’ve been hearing stories about”
    “Coming!” she said.
   

I remember seeing a short dark skin Goth like girl wearing all black clothes, and dark make-up and weird black sleeves covering her forearm’s that looked nothing like me coming down the stairs.
   

“Hey I’m Aja your big sister” she said with what looked like a fake semi smile.
   

“Hi” I said with discomfort. I don’t know why I felt so uncomfortable. Was it because I haven’t seen her since I was a baby and now it’s just unusual to me? Or was it because I was judging her due to her appearance?

She didn’t seem as mean or evil as the stories were told. I noticed that she was always in her room. Which was dark and depressing. Almost too scary to be in. But not bother anyone. Once I started to come over she began to change. My older Step-sister Chantell would always talk about her and they never got along. I started to be rude to my older sister because my step-sister was. Even though she didn’t get along with my step-sister, I felt that she was always mean I me the most. I remember a time when she was in the living room counting her bottle cap collection.
   

“Hey what are you doing?” I said
   

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she said aggressively still focused on her bottle cap collection.

Not noticing she was irritated by my presence I touched one of her bottle caps. She scratched with her cat like nails. Leaving four lines that began to bleed.

    “Ow” I said starting to cry
Aja just looked at me and started to laugh. My step-mom came down the stairs
    “What happened Tah?” she said
    “Aja scratched her!” my step sister said
    

My step-mom looked at Aja then me. Then told me to hit her back. I was too scared of her so I didn’t do anything so she sent my sister to her room. I always heard stories about what she did but not about her life. Once I did it made since why she acted the way she did with me and just in general.
   

I misjudged my sister because I always just thought she was just evil just to be evil and, but there was a reason why. I learned that don’t be quick to judge someone without knowing their story or what they’ve been through. I was beginning to hate her because the way she treated me but I let it all go. Now to this day she doesn’t act mean towards me. Were as close as can be because I learned more about her I found out that she isn’t that much of a bad person. At the end of the day she’s my sister despite the fact we always get on each others nerves.