When tensions rise, students look to those they idolize, especially siblings to relieve stress. Starting from day one, siblings are constantly put in situations to compete against each other.
And sometimes their rivalry tends to be compared between their athletic abilities. Sophomore Cami Lee and senior Maya Lee started playing tennis 5 years ago where they train at the same academy and compete directly against one another.
“I do feel pressure to get up to where she is,” Lee said. “I watched my sister grow up, and I see her as a role model. But, I always focus on the two year age gap, instead of how good she is right now.”
Another factor consists of the age difference between two siblings. Junior Gayla Gao is two years younger than her older sister, and feels that a short age gap increases the burden to fit her standards of success.
“The closer you are, the more the pressure there’d be, because you’re more similar and everybody else remembers your siblings,” Gao said.
Not only are siblings raised in the same environment, but expectations are also set by the same guardians. Gao said she is exhausted from trying to match her sister’s academic accomplishments, since her parents instilled their competition at a young age.
“It warps my perception of what is considered a good grade. For my drive, it makes me want to try harder, but also makes me want to just give up,” Gao said.
On the other hand, Lee feels that older siblings get less attention from their parents. Lee doesn’t want to devalue her younger sister’s success, so instead she tries to have a positive outlook on these standards set.
“I try to use it as motivation sometimes. Putting me as something that’s within reach or like something that she should be aiming for,” Lee said.
Ultimately this pressure might affect the relationship, but siblings find it important to communicate this with their parents to ease any stereotypes set. Instead of younger siblings comparing the similarities between their siblings, finding the unique characteristics unites that bond.
“Just recognize yourself as an individual, and lay into the differences that you have,” Lee said.
