Hero
Toni Morrison said “A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves- a special kind of double”. This is true for my sister Aurora and me. We may be twins but we are complete opposites. We have different friends, styles, opinions, music selections, dreams, goals and talents. Even though we have clashing personalities, I have come to admire my sister. She is extremely smart and she is her own person. Those are two qualities I struggle with from time to time, but I can’t imagine picking anyone else to call my hero.
First off, Aurora is the smart twin. In my experience with twins, there is a smart twin and an average intelligent twin. I used to get so mad at Aurora when we were younger because I didn’t understand why she was smarter than me. Then, as we got older I understood that we are two different people and I can’t compare myself to her. After coming to that realization, I still was mad at her because I would have to make notecards and study for hours to get an “A” and all she had to do was pay attention in class. I will never forget the time we both went to take the ACT for the first time. We both went in and neither of us prepared to take it. So we get the test results back and she opens hers and said “Ugh I got a 29, I really wanted a 30”, I got a 19. By the time we graduated high school she won two scholastic writing awards and the closest thing I came to win was “best-dressed”. I hope to become half as smart as she is one day.
Another reason I look up to Aurora is she is her own person. Aurora is Aurora. When she first has a conversation with someone she is completely herself. She will talk to anyone about anything and I really commend her for that. I know for me, I like to get to know someone first before I have an in-depth conversation with them. Also, she does what she desires to do. She wanted to go into the Navy so she enlisted and is currently in the Navy. I think that is an important trait to have because she lives with no regrets. For me, I tend to overthink things sometimes and I don’t always end up perusing what I set out to do. Now, when I go to do something I try to have an “Aurora” frame of mind. She inspires me to be myself all the time. I think to inspire someone is a huge part of being a hero.
Aurora and I maybe night and day, but through all of our differences, I think very highly of her intrinsic intelligence and her personality. Those qualities will take her very far in life. She is my hero and I strive to be more like her every day.
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And all this time, I’ve been the one jealous of how hard she worked, and how motivated she was. And there are so many times we’ve argued about how I’m so open with people I’ve just met, I never thought she would look up to me for it. There are a lot of things I never thought she’d look up to me for, most of them in this essay. Damn it, love your siblings, guys, you never know how they really feel.