Sister Act 2: Why Am I Still Referencing These Movies?

When I was a kid, I was prone to sleepwalking and sleep-talking with my sister being the one most likely to catch me in the act, finding me relocated to hallways and side rooms; getting into intellectual discussions with furniture and foodstuffs in the kitchen. I was going somewhere with this; fuck it, let's fast-forward to high school.

To carry on from the last post, Anne and I had a pretty standard suburban childhood, hanging out with friends at the nearby lake or pool, biking through sleepy neighborhood streets and all that. It really wasn't until we were both in secondary school that are dynamic was truly defined; that kind of makes sense, life, in a way, begins at high school with everything else as foundational prologue.

The only real year of overlap was my last year of high school which was my sister's first and we went about it in very different ways: I've always seen school as something of an escape whereas Anne has always seen as something of a prison, the Yin and Yang comparison still in full effect. The other side of that is my sister was coming into a school that had already gotten familiar with my shenanigans. I've always been a bit of a well-read goofball but, by the end of high school, I was a confident well-read goofball. I was by no means one of the popular kids but there was a certain amount of affirmative visibility by the time Anne joined me leading to this association that she was referred to constantly as being my little sister. That's not really fair for someone starting high school and trying to figure things out on their own.

The truth of it is, obviously sharing the same home as Anne meant we both knew each others home lives and how not great all that was. So, with that in mind, that meant she was really the only person that knew the full story behind all that bravado and swagger. There's a comfort in knowing there's someone else going through the same stuff as you so that's really when we started to bond as siblings. It also meant I had to step up in a bigger way taking on a more paternal and protective role. We both had to grow up fast but at least we weren't growing up alone.

And have you ever taught a teenage girl how to drive? That was a white-knuckled experience. Granted, once I drove my car into a house so I probably have no room to talk.

What was really cool is after a stretch of being separated being at different schools, we were reunited sharing the same frames of reference and our, um, supporting casts merged so to speak. My sister was taking a handful of classes with seniors so we definitely got to compare notes and she was starting to take classes with teachers I had had years before so there was that shared experience going on.

But, again, this was the end of high school; college is this visible endgame the entire time. One of the bigger regrets I have is going away to college instead of staying home and going to school closer. I hate leaving things unfinished especially things I'm committed to and responsible for. So there was some friction about the idea of me leaving but Anne ultimately gave me the go-ahead and I took it. When I would come home from the breaks, I was always surprised how much she had grown up: this badass, battle-hardened sister of mine still very much in high school but this old soul that could roll with it better than I could. There's a pride in that. I remember me and my girlfriend at the time going to Anne's graduation and just being so vocally proud that anyone within audible range could hear me cheer her on. It was this final realization that she didn't need me to make it, she could get by very well on her own.

Me and Anne in our 20s was a lot more fun than the two of us in our teens. That's where we kind of got back into the freewheeling adventure of it all but now with a much firmer dynamic. We're going to concerts, we're hanging out at dive bars making fun of people trying to hit on her, we're just generally making each other laugh and have a good time. It's like we finally got the opportunity to be silly again. 

Are there things about my sister growing up that I could've done without? Sure, it probably would've been great if she didn't date one of my roommates but that was something where I just had to back off and let them figure that all out. Are there other decisions she's made where I've pointed out how nonsensical they are before they epically backfire? Totally, but we're both cut from the same supremely stubborn cloth so I can't really fault her for it.

Anne and I are extensions of each other, the duo working towards the same goals but in different ways. She's learned a lot from me and I've learned a lot from her. It should absolutely go without saying but I'm very happy and very proud I get to be her brother.