I have a younger sister, she’s 14, and I love her. With this love comes a need to protect her, shield her from heartbreak, wrong decisions, etc. So you can imagine how our conversations pan out- “Umm, I was in high school not too long ago and yada yada yada, blah blah blah.” I must admit that my anxiety increases as she ages, questions circulate throughout my brain, all having to with what kind of woman she will be.

I’ve been thinking about my little sister in future quite a lot lately, especially in light of the Trayvon Martin verdict. Immediately after the verdict hit the web, I shot my family a call. After trading thoughts with my mother on the acquittal, I asked to speak to little sis. “Hey girly, what did you think of the case?” Her answer, “I didn’t really follow the case.” Late Sunday night, “Hey, how’s Newark doing. I heard there’s a protest over there, do you think it’ll turn into a riot anytime soon?” “Eh, I don’t know.” So my little sister knows little about the Trayvon Martin case and aftermath, why did this bother me so much? Well because my sister isn’t interested in anything political. She’s always been more concerned with sports, dancing, and celebrity gossip, and that’s never bothered me, until now.

My sister is aging; she’s in high school and I thought she’d start caring about political issues by now, but that’s not the case for her. She’s an athlete, a blogger, and a tweeter (I think that’s the proper term). On the surface I was freakin out because she might turn out to be a politically unaware woman but in reality- I was afraid that she might not turn out to be a mini-me. What a nightmare!

All my life, she’s followed my cue-I went into sports, she went into sports, I joined chorus, she joined chorus, I started baking, she began to bake. Now, she’s forging her own identity. I feel like a mama bird watching her chick fly for the first time, it’s scary AF. But what kind of woman do I want my little sister to be? Well I can’t be sure. I’m only 19, I barely have myself figured out. I know I want her to be genuine and successful. Could I ever see her at a program like Duke Engage in NYC? I would like to, but probably not. Only time will tell.