Being an older sister is one of the greatest accomplishments I take pride in. Growing up with a miniature version of myself living down the hall from me was AMAZING -most of the time. Veronica is my sixteen-year-old sister and also one of my best friends. She and I have our moments, but I’m always there to support her and care for her. All big sisters share these moments with their siblings, but my sister isn’t like everybody else. Veronica was diagnosed with Aspergers when she was in the 8th grade, but we always knew Veronica wasn’t your ordinary kid. Aspergers is a spectrum disorder, but with higher functionality. Typically, a child with AD is socially awkward but extraordinarily intelligent, which especially describes Veronica. Living or being friends with somebody with this superpower may be hard, but they teach you things you may never have thought about before.
Our parents always told us to never judge a book by its cover, and Veronica is a perfect example of this. When you look at her, she looks like a typical Italian girl. She has big, brown eyes, a captivating smile, and an overall warm aura. However this all changes when she opens her mouth. Veronica is a genius, and I’m not just saying this because she’s my sister-maybe a little. One part of Aspergers is, as I mentioned before, extraordinary intellectuality. Veronica hasn’t gotten below a B since she was in 6th grade, and I wish that was an exaggeration. It’s hard to live up to that expectation, as I’m sure some of you can relate. There were times I struggled with homework, and Veronica sat next to me and assisted me with it. Her brilliance will forever blow my mind. If you took a quick look at her, however, you would never expect this.
I had a friend who unknowingly would use terms that made Veronica sound like a child. One day, this friend mentioned meeting Veronica. She said I constantly talked about her and she invited us over to her dorm. I had to warn her that when you speak to Veronica, you talk to her as if she is another college student and on our level. When the night came, she approached Veronica as I expected, childish. Veronica stood tall and smiled. Later in the night, this friend talked about being an early childhood development major and wanting to explore the basics of her field. Without missing a beat, Veronica went into an explanation about developmental problems and chromosomal conditions. This baffled my friend’s mind. She thought it was amazing that Veronica’s brain can hold so much information, but lucky me, I already knew Veronica was amazing.
Having a sister who isn’t like every other kid has its challenges. I don’t get to experience the typical relationship other sisters may have, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. My sister has taught me more about life than anybody else could’ve. Having somebody who views the world with another perspective will always benefit me in the end. Veronica always tells me to be myself and to not change for anybody. She has had her moments where people didn’t accept her quirks and she was bullied for it. She could’ve easily changed her ways but she loves herself and would rather stay true to herself. That is not something every kid would say or feel, but Veronica isn’t every kid.
Rather than trying to change her for the world, I’d like to try and change the world for her.