Younger sibling overshadowed needing ADVICE

MotherOfTwo
Wed, 10 Nov 2004 18:11:21 +0000

My daughter (now in 12th grade) was almost hysterical in fear of being compared to her older brother (now a college junior) when she started high school in 10th grade. She would get very upset if anyone mentioned him, with good reason, as some teachers and students had made some very insensitive comments to her or in front of her. He was the valedictorian, won many prestigious awards, and got much recognition from students and teachers. By 11th grade she had made her own way, found her own interests (different from his), and was over most of her distress. Then a boy from our school with the same last name as ours (no relation) was arrested for doing something so terrible (I won’t go into detail here) that his name was published in the paper even though he was a juvenile. People who didn’t know her well asked her if the criminal is her brother and she now realizes how lucky she is to have the brother she has The last time it happened, a security guard at our school was checking her ID when she drove in late and asked if her brother was the one he had “apprehended.” She proudly replied - NO! MY brother was the VALEDICTORIAN!!!"