NNPA
Dear Gwendolyn:
I am 22 and live at home with my parents and two sisters. I recently received a B.S. degree. I have been accepted into a Masters program and my goal is to achieve a Ph.D.
This is the problem: My sisters are going around town telling their friends and everyone who will listen that I am snobbish. I have tried to act like a sister, but we just have different interests. Even my aunts are telling me not to think I am better than my sisters, cousins, and other relatives.
Last week they invited me to go with them to a nightclub. I was fearful at first, but I went. I had hoped it would be of high scale ñ at least more upper than their usual hangouts. Well, it turned out to be one of those hole in the wall joints. The men were drunk and the women were drunk and jealous. When a man approached me for a dance, his lady friend came from across the room and put a knife to my throat. I was so frightened I ran. I waited at the front door for the arrival of a taxi.
Gwendolyn, I don’t like rough people. The family is really talking about me.
Margaret
Dear Margaret:
Let the family go right ahead and talk. Your problem surfaces in so many families. All I can tell you is to not go back to that club or any club they invite you. In fact, do not go anywhere else with them only if or when they change their worldly ways. You could have been killed. And for what, some drunk man?
Let me tell you this: Clubs are not necessarily your best place to meet someone, especially those considered to be low down dives. It is your educational achievement that is causing all the jealousy. You have a right to pursue your goals and turn your dreams into reality. Not only will jealousy come from siblings and other relatives, but it can also come from peers and friends. You have no choice except to leave them behind. Try to seek funding that will allow you to pay tuition and have your own apartment. If you stay there, you won’t be able to move forward. Your sisters’ hatred will become like a thick fog and you won’t be able to see the needed directions for your success.
Visit and always look after your parents. But as to those sisters, when it comes to the familiar words said: DonÃt forget where you came from, Margaret – forget.