Katie Essay, Research Paper

On May 7th, 1993, my eleventh birthday, my mother broke the news. I was going to be a big sister to twins. I was not happy. Being an only child for over eleven years with divorced parents had made me extremely spoiled and I did not want that to change. I had become very accustomed to not having to share my family?s love and the prospect of another child in the family scared me very much. For weeks I didn?t speak to my mother because I felt that she had betrayed me in some peculiar way by becoming pregnant and that she no longer loved me as much.

Approximately three months into the pregnancy my mom miscarried one of the babies and was bedridden for the rest of the pregnancy. The doctors said she was lucky to still be carrying one of them, considering that she was thirty-five and sick to begin with. This baby would be special everyone said, but I didn?t feel any better. Why did my mother need another child? Wasn?t I enough? Then one day it all changed. My mother sat me down and told me that she still loved me but she had been trying to become pregnant with her boyfriend for almost six years now and she never thought she?d have another child. Even at eleven I could see how important this was to my mother so I began to become happy too. After all I was going to be sister, and being a sister to a very important baby was even better than that.

KateLynn Elizabeth Bright was born on January 20th, 1994 at 12:20am to Joanne Theresa Whittaker-Miller and Eugene Patrick Bright. KateLynn weighed 8lbs, 1oz and was 19.5 inches long, a rather small infant that would have a rather large impact on so many lives. I, Jennifer Lynn Miller, was not even twelve years old when my half-sister came into this world and changed my life from there on out.

Even as a newborn Katie was incredibly intelligent and she clung to me immediately. By the time she was five months old my mother had gone back to work and I baby-sat constantly, which only brought my kid sister and me closer. I was the one who taught Katie to speak, walk, and eventually read and write. KateLynn would listen to me over our mother or her father, and even though that sometimes annoyed people it showed just how much we loved each other. To this day my six (?and a half? as she?d say) year old sister is intelligent past her years and can relate to me on a level much closer to that of a sixth grader than that of a kindergartener.

KateLynn has forever shaped the relationships I have with people on a day-to-day basis. Since her miracle birth I have looked at life in a different way because with a little help from her I can still see the world through a child?s eyes. Katie has also taught me to accept myself and be honest to myself at any cost like only a child can. In a straightforward manner she single handedly has taught me to take each day in stride and to live life to the fullest.

I am now attending college to become a kindergarten teacher and thanks to Katie I know that I?ve made the right choice for my future. If all the children I work with are even half as intelligent as she is in all of life?s matters then I will always be educated and therefore my insatiable desire for knowledge will always be filled. Katie has helped me to make so many important life decisions thus far and I know that throughout the years I can always count her to help me out.

KateLynn has made me feel more respected and loved than any other person in this world because she is truly honest and caring as well as open about her feelings. When I feel down I can always count on her to raise my self-esteem and make me feel better almost instantly.

The bond between us cannot be broken, and age makes no difference in how close we are. Since the day she was born KateLynn had not only been my little sis but also my best teacher, for I believe you can learn more from a child then any college professor you?ll ever have. Katie is my best friend and I love her more than any one other person in this entire world.