It starts out cute and almost bearable when the teacher spends a minute or two telling funny little anecdotes, reminiscing about when my brothers previously attended their class. My last name is read off of the attendance list and triggers the start of embarrassing comments and awkward questions. Though it appears completely innocent, before I know it, I am hearing a daily story on how hilarious my brothers were, how smart they were, or what great guys they were. Sometimes I feel as if teachers are trying to infer that my brothers are going to be a tough act to follow. Thanks to my siblings, my teachers have already set their standards nice and high for me.

They make sure to tell the kind of stories that remind me of the big shoes I have to fill, highlighting all the great qualities of my brothers. But come on, let’s get real; my brothers could not have been so outstanding. There is no way that they were the star students or athletes my teachers make them out to be.

If they are so great, what happened to me? Considering we are all coming from the same gene pool and we are all part of the same family tree, I should be just as amazing. Instead I feel completely ordinary and average. My brother the musical genius, who is as charming and charismatic as ever, left me as a junior high band drop-out and the quiet one in class whose name you would have a hard time remembering. My second brother set multiple records in the Cinco pool while I am a junior still fighting to be on the varsity soccer team. He found math to be a breeze and I spend countless hours studying for it.

So here I am, stuck trying to figure out a way to shine past my siblings. I am left critiquing every little thing about myself, but there is no way I will get through high school like this. I am going to have to embrace who I am and my teachers will come to see me for me. Maybe I do not have the talents my brothers are blessed with, but I know I have things that they lack. I am ready to break out of the shadows they have casted over me for so long and prove I am the girl everyone expects me to be and more.