"I'm not saying that I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy."
When I said that there was no way that my life could possibly get any worse, I was kidding. I didn't actually expect...
"She was brave and strong and broken all at once."
-Anna Funder, Stasiland
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The first rule about falling in love is that you should never let it consume you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's not okay to be passionately in love, but if you find that your every thought suddenly revolves around your significant other, it may be time to take a step back— way back.
I wish that someone had told me this before I'd foolishly made the decision to let a boy invade my heart and by extension, take up permanent residence in my thoughts. But, I, like so many others before me had allowed my teenaged self to be swept up in all the emotions of the moment without thinking of the consequences that would accompany my actions.
Unfortunately, that lesson was taught by way of a wave of heartbreak, followed by a rather unhealthy dose of despair. You'd think that I'd have learned from that experience, but if I had, then I wouldn't have much of a story to tell you, now, would I?
That brings us to the moment that I found myself standing in my parent's front yard suppressing a long overdue sigh and gazing longingly at the sky. It was so clear, so peaceful, but for me this beautiful fall day held only sorrow.
Bad things happening to me were second nature by this point in my life and by now, I knew better than to ask why me? It was more along the lines of 'of course it had to happen to me.' To put it frankly, and rather mildly, my life sucks and I'm not saying that to win pity points. I'm simply stating that my life does, in fact, suck.
I heard someone clear their throat, rudely interrupting my internal monologue. Turning around, I found myself staring at my twin sister, Katie.
Ah, Katie— sweet, loving, gentle Katie.
We shared the same pale— in desperate need of a tan— skin tone, thanks to our parents and were around the same height, but fortunately for us, that was where the similarities ended.
For starters, her auburn hair was pinned at the top and a few lose curls fell at the sides, contrasting with my ordinary brown hair that I'd hurriedly pulled into a sloppy ponytail at the last minute.
If that doesn't highlight our vastly different personalities, then I don't know what will.
I should probably tell you now that Katie and I are not your typical sisters who do everything together and are the best of friends. We have our differences (lots of 'em), but in a way we kind of balance each other out. She's the good twin and I more often than not, find myself playing the role of the slightly dysfunctional, Are you sure you two are even related? twin.
I could already tell that I was about to be chastised by my unwilling other half by the way she had her arms crossed and when she raised her chin ever so slightly, I groaned.
