I’m 28 and just finished college. Everyone’s like, "Congratulations!" and "What’s next for you?" And I just… I don't know what to say. For my whole life, since I was little, it was always about my sister. She needed so much. And I was the one who was home all the time. My parents worked. So it was me. Making sure she ate. Making sure she was okay. I never had a life outside of her. I never really wanted one, either. It was just… what I did. It was who I was.
Now she’s in a care home. A good one. And I finished my degree online. I got good grades. But it’s like… I don’t know how to be me without her. I don’t know what I like. I don’t know what I want to do. I look at other people my age, and they have friends, they go out, they have jobs, plans. I just have… this empty space. And I feel SO BAD about it. Like, I should be relieved. I should be happy. She’s safe, she’s cared for. And I can finally do something for myself. But what IS myself?
Sometimes I just sit in my room and stare at the wall. My parents are always asking if I’ve applied for jobs. What my plan is. And I just tell them I’m looking. But I don’t even know what I’d look FOR. I feel like I'm supposed to be this completely different person now, but I have no idea how to become her. Or if she even exists. It’s terrifying. I miss my sister, but I also… I don’t know. I just feel lost. More lost than I ever did before.
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