Aileen Nguyen

As far as academics, my sister was always far beyond my league. Her grades were mostly higher than mine, and since we are so close in age, competition was always a priority. Our relatives always compare us to each other, and my sister was always praised the most. She was always ahead of me at whatever I do, and I was far behind her, in her shadow, in her footsteps. I felt as if I was chasing the wind. But this competition that always aroused between my sister and it made me exceed my own limits and has pushed me farther than I could’ve gone myself. She helped me, even though I was her competition and her enemy, not because she pitied me, but because I was her sister. I will always admire her before anyone else, since she has affected me more than anyone else. Aileen is my enemy, my sister, and my role model.

My sister, Aileen, has many achievements and has accomplished many goals in her life. She has awards such as perfect attendance, and awards for proficient grades and outstanding academics. My parents are especially proud of my sister for getting in to CAMS (California Academy of Math and Science). CAMS is a prestigious school that excels in the teachings of math and science. They only accept the students that are gifted in math and science. Being accepted into this school in which the students there are talented and gifted is probably her most outstanding achievement. Being in a school like this, my parents and I believe that she will have a great future. But also being in this school, she has once again exceeded her own standards and she will be accepted into a great university.

Aileen lives with my parents and me in our house in LA. She is 15 years old this year, and she goes to the prestigious school, CAMS. When she isn’t studying, she is helping out our parents at their restaurant, or helping out around the house. Most of the time, she researches on the computer, listens to music, and does her homework. Since Aileen is 15 years old, she doesn’t have a set job or career. I always find her doing her own work and living a random life. In the end, Aileen will always find something to do to keep her schedule busy.

Aileen thinks of life as a story, in which the day one is born is when the story begins, and the story ends when one dies. Life can be a tragedy, a comedy, or anything. “A story is as unpredictable as life itself.” There can be many events in the story, and thrilling plots tied to a dramatic resolution, but there will always be an ending. There can be many themes to life, just as there are many themes in a book and a novel. Aileen thinks of life as optimistically as she can, because there is only one life to live, and one has to live it to the end, whatever the end may be. The reason she tries to stay optimistic is because a story can give one the best and the worst, and one has to be ready to face such things in life as well.

Aileen is important to me in many ways. First of all, she’s my sister, and she has always helped me when I needed her. She and I have always competed with each other in school, and because of this drive to overthrow her, I’ve also exceeded my own limits and goals. After a lot of thought, I realized that I’m only partially as good of a student as I am now because of my competition with my sister. My competition with my “perfect” sister has made me better than I ever realized. Overall, my life has been completely affected by having a sister. Without her in my life, I don’t think that I could’ve been as good in school as I am now. I don’t think I can imagine how different my life will be right now if I didn’t have a sister like Aileen. She’s my sister, my friend, and she’s my hero.