Relationship Paper

I will like to describe the nature of my relationship with my elder brother. As long as I can remember, he was always a point of reference for my parents. “Chris had straight ‘A’ in high school”. My dad used to say. I remember having to work extra hard in school to get perfect grades. I never understood how he played extra hard and still did very well in school. He started walking and talking very early in life and my parent’s subconsciously, expected noting less from the rest of the kids. It was later on in life that, I came to appreciate the role he played in my life.

My brother was a bully, he was twice my size and for some reason enjoyed beating me up. The nature of our relationship growing up was not cordial. He was always itching to get his hands on me at the slightest opportunity. My parents were hardly at home and this gave him ample time to practice his martial art stunts on me. The cat and mouse game came to an abrupt end in 1993. I was tired of been bullied and decided to push back. Looking back, although I lost the fight, my violent outburst opened up a new chapter in our relationship.

Prior to the revolution, the rules governing our relationship was built around fear. I avoided confrontation and stayed away from him. I can remember always trying to stay away from his personal belongings, even when I was home alone. His room was out of bound, and he never let me play with his toys.