Sisters

Everybody in the world wants something they do not have. The normal dream of becoming a superstar and enjoying the pleasure of being admired by thousands of hundreds of people. The famous want to escape from the spotlight and live as the normal people. The fat imagine how beautiful they would look like if they could just lose whatever number of pounds. The bony fantasize about how they would look if they could only grow the womanly curves. The single ones want a mate while those in relationships want independence. And naturally all only children want a sibling.

But I am not one of them.

As the only child with two caring, supportive and happily married parents, I was the happiest kid in the world. I was the center of all the attention. I got all the hugs and all the kisses. On all the occasions where gifts were given, every penny went to my presents. When I needed my father’s help with my science project, I didn’t have to wait in line before he solved other kids’ problems first.

You see, I was always first. I was only. I got all the good stuff. I would be crazy to have some other kid ruin my life.

I didn’t believe having a brother or sister would make me happy. All my friends with sisters or brothers were always complaining about some stupid things their siblings had done—fighting over the remote control, ignoring them, borrowing clothes without asking, pulling pranks on them, etc., etc. Only an idiot would want a sibling.

At least that’s what I thought. Ever the spoiled only child, I went to a private high school, an all-girls school. I know it made a lot of people scared, but to me, it was paradise. I had never actually fitted in junior high, but here I found several girls to whom I related in ways I never thought possible. They didn’t laugh at me when I said something stupid. They forgave me when I made mistakes. In their eyes, I was not a nerd because I liked study too much. They were not only my friends, but my family. I truly felt they were sisters I had never had.

At our school, every freshman was matched with a senior who would be their “big sister”. If your big sisters liked you, they’d thought you were their adoptive sisters; therefore their real little sisters became your sisters by connection.Before I knew it, I went from being an only child to the member of a huge family, adopting sisters left and right.

Around that time, my friend Laura （my friend since six, and still my best）, whom I had been fighting with for a few years, became my friend again. Laura came from a big family. She had two sisters, one brother and a baby on the way. I could not imagine how she survived. She wasn’t really happy with them all the time. She would tell me all her problems with her family, school and anything else that was bothering her. Then she would turn to me and say,“You are like the big sister I never had.” Every time she said it, I was flattered. I loved the idea of being so close to someone that they considered you family. I still love it.

I spent my whole childhood denying the idea of having siblings, yet I went out and selected my own sisters. We are not bonded by blood. We do not always get along with each other. Sometimes we fight with each other over little things like real sisters. From time to time, we disappoint each other.

Despite all the differences, we share a special connection with each other. We know how to make each other laugh and how to comfort each other in times of sorrows. More importantly, we are there for each other, for better or worse.

姐  妹

世界上的每一个人都渴望得到自己没有的东西。普通人梦想着成为巨星，享受万众瞩目的喜悦；而名人们想要逃离聚光灯，过寻常人的日子；身材丰腴的人们想象着自己减掉身上多余的不管多少磅肉后会多么美丽；瘦骨嶙峋的幻想着自己要是长出女性曲线会是什么样子；单身的想要个伴侣；有伴侣的想要独立。自然而然的，所有独生子女都想要个兄弟姐妹。

但是我不是其中一个。

作为家里的独生女，我拥有慈爱、支持我的、享受幸福婚姻生活的父母，我是世界上最幸福的孩子。我总是大家关注的焦点。我得到了所有的拥抱和亲吻。在所有要送礼物的场合，每一分钱都用于给我购买礼物。当我的科学项目需要爸爸帮助时，我不需要等待爸爸先解决其他孩子的问题。

你看吧，我总是第一位。我是唯一。所有好东西都是我的。我疯了才会想要其他孩子来毁掉我的生活。

我不认为有兄弟姐妹会让我开心。我所有有兄弟或姐妹的朋友总是向我抱怨兄弟姐妹们做的蠢事：和他们抢遥控器、忽视他们的存在、未经允许就借走他们的衣服、捉弄他们，等等。只有傻瓜才会想要个兄弟姐妹。

至少我以前一直是这么想的。作为一个曾经被众人溺爱的独生女，我上的高中是一所私立女子学校。我知道很多人觉得女子学校让人恐惧，但对我而言，这就是天堂。实际上我没能很好地融入初中，但是在这里我和一些女孩关系十分融洽，我们相处的方式是我以前从未想到的。她们不会因为我说傻话而笑话我。她们会原谅我犯的错误。在她们看来，这么喜欢学习的我也不是书呆子。她们不光是朋友，还是我的家人。我真的觉得她们是我未曾有过的姐妹。

在我们学校，每个高一新生都会和一个高年级老生配对，老生是新生的“大姐姐”。如果你的大姐姐喜欢你，她们就会把你当成领养的妹妹，因此她们的亲姐妹也就成了你的姐妹。不知不觉中，我就从一个独生女成了大家庭的一员，身边都是领养姐妹。

那段时间，过去几年一直和我争吵的朋友劳拉（我们从六岁起就是朋友，她现在依旧是我最好的朋友）跟我和好了。劳拉来自一个大家庭。她有两个姐姐，一个弟弟，还有一个即将出生的小宝宝。我无法想象她是如何生存下来的。她也不是一直都能和兄弟姐妹们相处愉快。她会告诉我她的家庭、学校以及一切让她烦心的问题。然后她会转头对我说：“你就像我从未有过的大姐姐。”每次她这么说的时候我都觉得受宠若惊。我喜欢身边亲近的人将我当成家人。我现在也喜欢这种感觉。

整个童年我都否认再有一个兄弟或姐妹的想法，但是我还是出去选择了自己的姐妹。我们之间没有血缘关系。我们也不能一直愉快相处。有时候我们也会像其他真正的姐妹一样因为鸡毛蒜皮的小事儿争吵。偶尔，我们也让彼此失望。

尽管存在诸多差异，我们之间还是有特殊的联系。我们知道怎样逗彼此开心，怎样在悲伤的时候安慰对方。更重要的是，我们一直都陪在彼此身边，不管好坏。

A Word to Readers

不是姐妹，胜似亲姐妹。维系人与人关系的不是血缘关系，而是彼此之间的那份感情。

Vocabulary

normal ［ˈnɔːml］ adj. 通常的；正常的

admire ［ədˈmaɪə］ v. 赞赏，羡慕

spotlight ［ˈspɒtlaɪt］ n. 聚光灯

occasion ［əˈkeɪʒn］ n. 场合，时机

stuff ［stʌf］ n. 东西

ruin ［ˈruːɪn］ v. 毁坏

complain ［kəmˈpleɪn］ v. 抱怨，抗议

idiot ［ˈɪdɪət］ n. 傻瓜

spoil ［spɔɪl］ v. 宠坏

connection ［kəˈnekʃn］ n. 联系

huge ［hjuːdʒ］ adj. 极大的

adopt ［əˈdɒpt］ v. 采用；领养

survive ［səˈvaɪv］ v. 幸存，留存

bother ［ˈbɒðə］ v. 打扰

deny ［dɪˈnaɪ］ v. 否认

bond ［bɒnd］ v. 黏合;建立亲密关系

disappoint ［ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt］ v. 使……失望

sorrow ［ˈsɒrəʊ］ n. 悲伤