Style: Narrative.
Statement: Many people agree their sibling relationships are a love-hate relationship. I wrote this piece right after a fight with my little sister when I felt slightly jealous of her talents. Later, I realized that even despite our constant arguments and differences, I still and would always hold a great deal of love for her.
Maddy came into the world when I was five. I loved her, and although we fought sometimes, I was grateful that she existed. We owned a planet of moments, each a precious star. She was the sun and I was the moon, rising and falling with our endless sky, one after another. Our little world, centered around our love, was where everything took place. Tiny accomplishments filled our world with moments of pride. We had a whole galaxy to explore.
She grew up around remote-control cars, mechanical pencils, and shelves of books and books on end. Tales of princesses and witches filled her mind and sent her spiraling into a world of magic. The whirs of wheels on the wooden floor rang across the room, the hiss of robot motors. But it was not only her imagination that made her special.
When Maddy turned six, she could do just about anything. Maddy started playing the violin. She grasped the fundamentals quickly and her progress soared, like the eagles which took pride in their sky. She could read chapter books and knew every little word. My little sister could figure out what long words meant by their context. She tinkered with equations and flew through lands told in stories. She loved to take apart pens and reassemble them, tiny parts spread across the table as she unscrewed the tip. When something was missing, she knew just what to put in its place, whether a spring, screw, or cap. Little pieces flew out of her hands and placed themselves into the nooks of her targets. Maddy was a little engineer, and everyone knew it. She was the sun, but she shone much brighter.
When I was her age, catlike creatures floated on the margins of my worksheets, each little spot covered to the brim with doodles. I would pencil clouds and shade little flowers, each delicate petal carrying a story. Before I turned anything in, I'd grab my eraser and reluctantly clear all evidence of my imagination. If a math problem asked, "if there are five frogs and two of them leave, how many would be left?" I would draw frogs, each with crowns, glasses, and ties, unique in some way. I continuously scored well on quizzes and tests. I understood everything, but not the way Maddy did.
I loved my little sister, but there were times I yearned to be more like her. Over time, I learned to appreciate her talents. She was special and so was I. However, I also found comfort in our differences. We may rise like the sun and moon in our own world, yet we are both stars in the never-ending galaxy.
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