Paige

I only have one sibling, a sister who's younger than me by more than four years. She's a junior in high school and still lives with our parents.

I haven't been back to Grosse Pointe since early January, when I flew home from Colorado. Paige has since turned 17 and fallen in and out of lust several hundred times.

The two of us have always lived according to how our parents (and everyone else we knew) narrowly defined us; I have always been the "book smart" one, while my sister has always been the "street smart" one. We embraced these roles, but I see now that the labels have been extremely limiting for both of us. I'm a bit of a Cowardly Lion and Paige doesn't have very high expectations of herself or her future.

I worry about her. My mom told me recently that Paige hasn't brought home a report card in over two years. I was stunned--not by the fact that Paige hasn't shared her report cards with our parents, but by the fact that they haven't gone to the school to get it themselves.

My mom thinks Paige should be responsible for herself (as I was at her age). If she flunks, she'll suffer the consequences.

But Paige is still in high school. She's not 18 yet. So I think my parents have a responsibility to see that she makes it through high school. If they really think we're so radically different, why do they expect her to approach school the same way I did?

I just sent my sister a text message asking her to come visit some weekend. I think a drunken heart to heart is in order. Besides, I still owe her a birthday gift.

Now all we have to do is convince our parents to let her borrow the car...