Sisterly Education

First Grade:

Her hair was dark brown, her eyes, big and brown and when you looked into them it was like looking into rich dark chocolate, with her dimples accentuating her smile she was the complete package. We chased each other from one end of the house to the other, in a little innocent game we made up.

 We laughed, laughed so hard that our stomachs hurt, and our mouths were permanently smiling which would light up the whole room if you walked in.  

We were always laughing, always smiling, gigging at our inside jokes that we didn’t think our parents knew about. So innocent, playing beautifully simple games of a perfect world where the good guy would always win.

It was a Monday morning when I had to go to school and she was up before me, always up before me. I picked up my backpack that was probably 2 times my size and was sad that I wouldn’t get to play with her all day. The cowboys, princesses and mermaids would have to be put on hold for my seven hour school day.

As much as I loved school, I hated leaving her alone with no one to play the other character in our complex stories, no one to be an accomplice to cause mischief in the Leiker household.

At the age of 6 there was nothing that could tear us apart. Nothing. And she waved goodbye all the way out of the drive way.

Second Grade:

            Disneyland, The happiest place on earth was living up to our expectations.

“Come on, we have to make it to your first roller coaster before they close the park!” I told her as we rushed with only minutes left to get in line.

“Is it scary?” She asked

“Oh you will be fine” As I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the line.

“I don’t think I am going to be tall enough” She worried, but she was. We finally made our way up to the front, and had her stand tall and puff her hair up to just make the height cut. She was strapped into her seat.

That may have scarred her for life. The three minute ride lasted her a lifetime and she probably left small hand dents in the bar, realizing gravity can be painful.

The rest of the trip we avoided roller coasters all together, and spent our time filled with the wonders of this magical adventure. From our eyes, we had fulfilled our dream and had no other worries in the world because when in Disneyland you see none of the harm, hatred, or evil that lies just beyond the gates.

“We don’t want to leave” We pleaded with are parents as we made our way towards the exit gates, completely exhausted barley able to move our feet from the miles of walking, eyes drooping, yet wanting to stay. Next thing you know you are stirred from comfort of your moms arms and placed into the back seat of the car for the drive home.

“Goodnight, sweet dreams” Our mom says as we feel the road wizz underneath our tires. The stars were out, glittering our mind with the wonders of Disney.

We fell asleep with smiles on our faces and magic in our hearts.

Third Grade:

            She was pedaling her single gear bike as fast as she could, little legs trying to keep up with the rest of us as the sweet smell of the Atlantic Ocean filled our lungs. 

            This was the longest time me and my sister had spent with our cousins who live in Connecticut and we wanted to suck every last minute out of this trip.

            She was always trying to keep up with the big kids. Even during our Thanksgiving Day dinners of thirty family members, she was always playing with the big kids. Trying to prove something. But what? 

She was perfect as she was.

Fourth Grade:

            “Do you think I will live to be one hundred year old?” She asked me, as we attended the 100^th birthday of our great-great grandma. Still living she is turning 107 in about a month and we always make a birthday card, we do this every year never knowing which one will be the last.

            “I don’t know” I said “Maybe it’s possible if we eat all our vegetables like Papa tells us to”

“Nah, even if I live one hundred years I will never eat those disgusting mushrooms”

“Come on, just eat one, there not too slimy” As I picked one from my pizza and held it in front of her face. We giggled like we always did and went to play with the other kids, new family members that we had just met.

            All of us kids thought that Mama K (turning 100 that year) was invincible; in fact we still probably think that she is invincible today. When we all asked her what her secret was she told us that we must eat a bowl of ice cream each night, even if it’s before dinner, a rule that she herself follows and never forgets to this day even if she can’t remember her own name. As I sit here writing this essay, I eat a bowl of ice cream in her honor, to live 100 years.

Fifth Grade:

            Our annual Easter pilgrimage to Yosemite was a tradition to cleanse the soul and inspire the spirit. You can only get closer to one another while living in a cabin, no tv, no wifi, only the nature of the valley surrounding you. Pure beauty. This is the trip we look forward to every year.

            It felt good to be riding side by side, alone, exploring the valley of one of the most beautiful national parks, looking for places undiscovered and untouched. It was magnificent.

            During that same trip, she wanted to quit on the hike taking us to the top of the waterfall. Our feet hurt, our mouths were dry, and our legs felt like weights.

            But it felt good, to finally reach the top, all the views, adrenaline and brilliance of standing on the edge of a waterfall. It was majestic.

            Oh, do you remember those sweet, everlasting moments when time stops just for a minute so you can look around to the glory of the life, and the people that are in it.

Sixth Grade:

            Angels Landing, the most terrifying physical experience I have ever encountered, is considered the most thrilling hikes in all of the national parks system, and I conquered it with her by my side.

            Both of us debated if it was really worth it to cross a section of rock three yards wide, cliffs one thousand feet straight down both sides, with a chain down the middle, to reach a point where you truly felt that it was an “angels landing”.

            When we completed the first part and looked towards the miles of chains that lay ahead of us we started thinking.

            “Is it just to that rock offshoot on the right?” She asked

            “No, it’s to the gigantic mountain that lay behind that rock” I replied

            “Is it really worth it?” She asked as she realized the rock she thought was the finish was miniscule compared to the massive mountain that lay behind it.

            “Lets do it” I said, “We can always turn around”

            “Yeah right” She said because she knew I absolutely hated turning back on a hike if we had not reached our goal.

            We were off, to dominate the monster before us, scared out of our whit’s, but always accepting a challenge, seeking an adventure.

            That was the first time I had thought of turning back, but we didn’t, together we overcame the obstacles along the way and in the end, got to grasp and appreciate the grandeur of the world.

Seventh Grade:

                        At this age I learned the beauty and simplicity of nature. It was in Oregon, camping on a beach called Gold Bluffs Beach, when I could pass hours just sitting there contemplating the world and my very own existence and not be bothered other than the coming and going of the waves.

            Just relaxing and spending one on one time with my family is completely priceless.

            One day my sister and I spent around three hours just jumping from a bluff and into the sand not worrying about anything other than how high we could jump or how far. This brought us back to our innocent youth when we truly believed there were no problems in the world.

            Just running, jumping, laughing, and doing it all over again, it all felt so pure, so easy and uncomplicated, which was a nice escape from the complex world.

            Perhaps we just felt free, felt like we were flying for a brief moment, all the while knowing there is a safe boundary to catch us when we fell.

“One more time?” she asked

“One more time” I replied

A brief escape from the world of growing up is much needed break from this complex world.

Eighth Grade:

            At her graduation I could hear parents muttering about how unsure they were about their child going into high school, uncertain of their future. I could also hear the conversations of the graduates on how excited and nervous they were to go to high school and pick out the ones that would be inevitably late on the first day, as well as the ones that would probably stop attending classes by their sophomore year.

            “My sister told me she is going to take me around the campus, you can come if you want” She told the chosen ones from her classes.

            It felt good to have the authority of being and older sibling and able to have her and her friends look up to me in the way that they did.

            Back at the graduation I embarrassed her with a sign that I knew she actually liked, but refused to admit to it. She looked so old all dressed up, so beautiful and graceful, and mature. A part of me didn’t like the fact that she was growing up; I wanted her to stay so little an innocent like I knew her as when she was young.

            And I watched her walk down the aisle and receive her certificate.

Ninth Grade:

            In the stillness of Manzanita Lake we could see the ripples we made when slicing through the water with our canoe, and the wave’s created continued until they dissolved into the lake itself.

            It was silent, other than the sound of the drops of water we made with our paddles.

            “Hey is it weird to think you are not going to be living with us in four years?” She asked

            I splashed her and she laughed, but I didn’t want to think about it.

Tenth Grade:

            When I saw a picture of her before the medical mess, I realized how different she had become, and how fragile life could be.

            With all the emergency visit to UC Davis I was home alone to sulk in silence, constantly wondering why her? She never did anything to want to harm others and was always so happy. Her laugh was absent for three months.

            “Do you need anything?” I would ask her constantly, because I felt useless like I could not do anything to better her serious situation. Everything became a blur of calling her at UC Davis between classes, telling her friends how she was doing, and having to continue along with my crazy high school life.

“I don’t know” She would reply, but when she looked in the mirror she could not face the fact that she would learn more about hospitals, emergency rooms, and harsh reality of life in those five months of hell than any other time in her life.

Believe me, you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

Eleventh Grade:

            I see her again almost every day in the hallways of Chico High. It was a blessing that she recovered so well that she could play soccer once more and join the Chico High team.

I never believed she would become so healthy that I could play alongside her on the same team and that she still had the abilities play absolutely brilliant soccer. It was on that field that I knew she was healing, I could tell by her play and how she was doing both mentally, and physically.

She is one of the most important people in my life, who has endured more than I can even envision, and I couldn’t imagine living without her by my side.

Having a sister defines one as a person and I truly believe Olivia Leiker has shaped me to being a better person to this day.