By Lizette Garcia
On the night when every child waits for a present on Christmas day, all I got get was sadness. My brothers and sisters were giving each other gifts. Their laughter filled the stuffy, hot living room. That year we were celebrating Christmas at my sister’s house, which is around the corner from where I live. On the soft, dark brown sofa you could see black spots from liquids that have stained the seat. The Christmas tree had round, red ornaments that reflected the TV lighting. They were all opening colorful wrapping paper that made the floor seem like a dump. I saw another present opened after another, but none of them were for me.
It was common to feel left out by my siblings for no reason. But I knew at one point, I would just break and talk back to them. I knew there was something different between us since we have a large age gap, which was always weird to me when I was younger until I found out the truth.
On the only day we have to celebrate with one another and for them to treat me that way, they made me cry all Christmas night. The tears just came down and I couldn’t control it. My parents came into my room to see what was the matter. I remember saying, “They dont like me. Don’t you see they are happy with one another, but when it comes to me, they eliminate me.”
A few days after Christmas, my sister came up to me and handed me a gift card because she knew she messed up by making me feel left out. I know that everyone makes mistakes. I always get annoyed and feel my blood flow faster due to anger that I can’t talk back to my siblings because my parents say it’s disrespectful.
That year, I really appreciated my parents because they comforted me on Christmas. They gave me a pair of shoes I wanted, but and the shoes weren’t important. It was knowing I had my parents to cheer me up that made my Christmas better.
Without a doubt, I knew my siblings treated me differently because they were missing love. I didn’t feel like they were treating me like their little sister, even though we all spoke Spanish and had the same roots as our father. The only problem was that we didn’t have the same mother.
I feel horrible that their mother had passed away when they were young. The mistreatment did not affect me as much after realizing this since I imagined myself in their position. I would be angry and depressed if I was in their shoes. Finding this out helped me want to get even closer to them and comfort them.
Recently, I interviewed my dad about why they would mistreat me.
My dad said, “The problem is because you both are from different mothers and that’s why they like each other, but don’t feel the same towards you.”
We spoke about a way to change the way they treat me. He said, “Talking to one another can help because people who talk to each other fix problems.”
According to C.S. Mott Children’s hospital Sibling Rivalry, it’s very common for children who are jealous to mistreat siblings. “Stress in your children’s lives can shorten their fuses, and decrease their ability to tolerate frustration, leading to more conflict.”
When I was younger, we had a stronger bond than now. I don’t know if it’s me thinking too much about what happened in the past and letting me change. I know that the thoughts I had of them not liking me was just at the moment. But I know I can count on them no matter what because being in someone's life for 17 years can make a huge impact in their lives.
Even though I have been through bad moments with my siblings, I believe that fighting is not the way to fix problems. Instead, we need to know each other more. Love might not always be an immediate connection, but it takes time to fix it. I would dedicate every minute to make us have a bigger and better connection. It’s a process of forgiving people about the bad moments and making them better. I love them very much, and no matter what happens, I will always see them as my role models.
It was common to feel left out by my siblings for no reason. But I knew at one point, I would just break and talk back to them. I knew there was something different between us since we have a large age gap, which was always weird to me when I was younger until I found out the truth.
On the only day we have to celebrate with one another and for them to treat me that way, they made me cry all Christmas night. The tears just came down and I couldn’t control it. My parents came into my room to see what was the matter. I remember saying, “They dont like me. Don’t you see they are happy with one another, but when it comes to me, they eliminate me.”
A few days after Christmas, my sister came up to me and handed me a gift card because she knew she messed up by making me feel left out. I know that everyone makes mistakes. I always get annoyed and feel my blood flow faster due to anger that I can’t talk back to my siblings because my parents say it’s disrespectful.
That year, I really appreciated my parents because they comforted me on Christmas. They gave me a pair of shoes I wanted, but and the shoes weren’t important. It was knowing I had my parents to cheer me up that made my Christmas better.
Without a doubt, I knew my siblings treated me differently because they were missing love. I didn’t feel like they were treating me like their little sister, even though we all spoke Spanish and had the same roots as our father. The only problem was that we didn’t have the same mother.
I feel horrible that their mother had passed away when they were young. The mistreatment did not affect me as much after realizing this since I imagined myself in their position. I would be angry and depressed if I was in their shoes. Finding this out helped me want to get even closer to them and comfort them.
Recently, I interviewed my dad about why they would mistreat me.
My dad said, “The problem is because you both are from different mothers and that’s why they like each other, but don’t feel the same towards you.”
We spoke about a way to change the way they treat me. He said, “Talking to one another can help because people who talk to each other fix problems.”
According to C.S. Mott Children’s hospital Sibling Rivalry, it’s very common for children who are jealous to mistreat siblings. “Stress in your children’s lives can shorten their fuses, and decrease their ability to tolerate frustration, leading to more conflict.”
When I was younger, we had a stronger bond than now. I don’t know if it’s me thinking too much about what happened in the past and letting me change. I know that the thoughts I had of them not liking me was just at the moment. But I know I can count on them no matter what because being in someone's life for 17 years can make a huge impact in their lives.
Even though I have been through bad moments with my siblings, I believe that fighting is not the way to fix problems. Instead, we need to know each other more. Love might not always be an immediate connection, but it takes time to fix it. I would dedicate every minute to make us have a bigger and better connection. It’s a process of forgiving people about the bad moments and making them better. I love them very much, and no matter what happens, I will always see them as my role models.