At-rule
- Reads 163
- Votes 24
- Parts 12
"I never intend to lose myself"
Many people envy the youngest in the family, thinking parents go easy on them and spoil them. But that's not how the youngest sees it.
Andy works tirelessly to avoid being compared to her sister, who is two years older. She's seen each of her siblings leave one by one, creating new lives without her and leaving her behind. The loneliness she feels is profound, but she keeps all her emotions bottled up because she knows they aren't seen as valid by others. In her family's eyes, she's just the baby, and a child like her has no right to feel that way.
While everyone else sees her as lucky, Andy struggles with the pressure to measure up and the pain of being left out. She's forced to grow up in the shadows of her siblings, with their achievements and lives constantly held up as standards she has to meet. Every day, she works hard not just for herself, but to break free from the comparisons and to prove that her feelings and experiences are just as real and important. Despite the perception that she has it easy, Andy's journey is filled with silent battles and unspoken hardships.