Same Family, Different Kids

By ERIN MOSHER
Special to the Record-Eagle

June 02, 2009 07:00 am

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My sister and I have always been different.

When we were younger, we never shared the same interests, me being the girly child, while Ali was more outdoorsy. I could more frequently be found playing with my younger brother, who I could easily coax into playing Barbies or Mary-Kate and Ashley with me, while Ali was outside climbing trees or digging up snails and worms.

While Ali would tell everyone she was going to travel the world when she grew up, I was more of a cautious homebody, and would constantly assure my parents that I would stick around and live next door to them when I grew up.

Regardless of these differences, however, I have always looked up to Ali. I admire my sister's zest for life and cannot help but envy her sense of spontaneity and impulsiveness.

With this "wild child" personality apparent to everyone, it was no surprise when my sister packed her bags and headed to Africa nine months after graduation. While I was enjoying my summer and the beginning of my senior year, Ali was working in orphanages and parading around the wilderness of Ethiopia. She returned home in December, and we spent hours catching up, trading her stories of energetic children and wild animals with my tales of pep rallies and prom dresses.

Growing up in a small town, I have gotten used to constantly being compared to my older sister.

This is not always bad, since Ali has an impeccable reputation that has thankfully rubbed off on me, but it also means that I have been asked at least a million times, "So, when are you heading off to Africa?"

And I have had to answer, at least a million more times, that no, I do not plan on moving to any foreign countries, and yes, I am planning on staying here next year and attending community college.

And although every wondering individual has assured me that NMC is a great college, staying here for the first year is a good idea, and that I can make just as much of a difference in northern Michigan, I will admit I have felt pressured at times to know exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life, as sure about it as my sister has always been.

As graduation comes closer, however, I feel more at ease with the fact that I do not know exactly what the next few years will bring.

I am excited at the prospect that I have the whole world at my feet, with endless opportunities to find myself and help others from right here on my very own continent.

And even though I will always be jealous of my sister's eagerness to change the world in more drastic ways, and her zealousness when doing so, I know that she will always be there for me, even if her support comes from across the world.

So for now, I am certain that my own little journey will take me exactly where I want to be, and I am at least proud of the fact that I now know I want to venture into the world enough to not live next door to my parents forever.

Erin Mosher is a senior at Elk Rapids High School.

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