My parents told me to take the bus to my Harvard graduation because they were too busy buying my sister a brand-new Tesla, but when they finally showed up expecting to watch me quietly walk across the stage and go back to celebrating her, the dean took the mic, said my name, and my father dropped his program as the whole crowd learned what I had built while they were busy acting like I was never the child worth showing up for. – Reading Times

That promised next year never actually arrived for me. Academic achievements were another significant area where the double standard of our household was most painfully evident.

I worked tirelessly every single night to maintain a perfect grade point average while joining every academic club and debate competition available to me. My flawless report cards were usually met with nothing more than a cursory nod and a cold comment about how that was exactly what they expected from a girl with my resources.

Meanwhile, Kaylee would often bring home mediocre grades and receive effusive praise for simply trying her best or showing a minor bit of improvement in her social studies class. By the time I entered high school, I had fully internalized the belief that I needed to work twice as hard just to receive half of the recognition my sister got for doing nothing.

I joined the competitive debate team and eventually became the editor of the school magazine while taking every single advanced placement course that the curriculum offered. I often studied until well past midnight, fueled by a desperate and lingering hope that my parents would eventually look at me with the same pride they showed Kaylee when she landed a minor role in a local play.