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Mar. 3rd, 2020 03:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly Dear Prudence,
My stepmother spent my childhood cutting me down to build her daughter up. Any accomplishment of mine was nothing, and anything my stepsister did was celebrated. I would get straight A’s, and I got lectured. My stepsister managed not to completely fail her honor classes, and she got a party. I dropped out of college to pursue a career in a technical field; my stepsister failed out completely. She currently works in retail but plans on pursuing a master’s degree.
I got a promotion at work and threw a small gathering to celebrate. My stepmother started to belittle me, saying any “idiot” could work at my company and that it was all busywork. I told her that at least I wasn’t stupid enough to have over $75,000 in college loans and working for minimum wage. I left school with a 3.8 GPA, and my company was offering to pay for me to finish it. I told her to leave—I wasn’t going to listen to her while she ate my cake. My father told me I couldn’t speak to his wife like that. I told him to leave too. My stepsister was in the next room. I wasn’t thinking about her; I just wanted to stand up to my stepmother. My stepsister announced to the room that what I had said was 100 percent true, and she congratulated me. Then she left. I haven’t spoken to anyone in my family. My parents can go rot for all I care, but I know I owe my stepsister an apology. We aren’t close, but she did not deserve that. Every time I try to get the right words out, they get tangled up in resentment and regret.
—Constant Comparison
( Read more... )
My stepmother spent my childhood cutting me down to build her daughter up. Any accomplishment of mine was nothing, and anything my stepsister did was celebrated. I would get straight A’s, and I got lectured. My stepsister managed not to completely fail her honor classes, and she got a party. I dropped out of college to pursue a career in a technical field; my stepsister failed out completely. She currently works in retail but plans on pursuing a master’s degree.
I got a promotion at work and threw a small gathering to celebrate. My stepmother started to belittle me, saying any “idiot” could work at my company and that it was all busywork. I told her that at least I wasn’t stupid enough to have over $75,000 in college loans and working for minimum wage. I left school with a 3.8 GPA, and my company was offering to pay for me to finish it. I told her to leave—I wasn’t going to listen to her while she ate my cake. My father told me I couldn’t speak to his wife like that. I told him to leave too. My stepsister was in the next room. I wasn’t thinking about her; I just wanted to stand up to my stepmother. My stepsister announced to the room that what I had said was 100 percent true, and she congratulated me. Then she left. I haven’t spoken to anyone in my family. My parents can go rot for all I care, but I know I owe my stepsister an apology. We aren’t close, but she did not deserve that. Every time I try to get the right words out, they get tangled up in resentment and regret.
—Constant Comparison
( Read more... )