“I taught your brother a couple of years ago!” Some students might cringe, others might smile. Still, there is no doubt that familial connections are remembered and celebrated within the Cathedral Catholic campus.
As students are submitting the last of their course selections for the 2024-25 school year, they may be anticipating the new teachers and classes they will be spending the year with. For some of these students, teachers have an air of mystery- you never know what they might be like. But for others, they may consult their older siblings who were already a part of that teacher’s class.
There are many benefits to having an older sibling pioneer through life to set an example for younger siblings. Still, some younger siblings might be disadvantaged by a teacher’s pre-made assumption of them based on their older sibling’s reputation.
Camila Abramowitz ‘24 recounts, “[I get recognized] in a lot of English classes. ‘Oh, you’re Blake’s sister!’ I feel like they think that we have to be just like them too, expectation-wise.”
Hannah Wong ‘24 adds, “[Some of my teachers] talk about Kyle a lot. They talk about how in their class, he did very well. Then they expect me to do well, too.”
Then there is the added weight of expectations. Cathedral Catholic’s Class of 2024 are set to receive their college decisions this month- in the next few weeks, to be precise. With older siblings who have been accepted into prestigious universities, younger siblings await their futures with anticipation and a hint of anxiety.
Wong agrees that there is a significant amount of pressure that she faces due to her older brother’s college acceptance. Kyle Wong ‘21, is currently enrolled in his third year at UCLA. During his time at Cathedral Catholic, he was an extremely well-performing student both academically and extracurricularly. Kyle Wong’s efforts were recognized by a service award given only to one selected student from the Cathedral Catholic Class of 2021.
”There’s a lot of different pressures. People expect me to be like my brother. Especially because I’m taking the same courses as him, because he helped me pick my courses- except I’m taking a few more difficult courses than him,” Wong elaborates. Among her many rigorous classes, Wong has taken AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 1, AP Literature, AP English Language, and AP World History.
However, Wong believes that the experiences passed down to her by her older brother equipped her with useful knowledge to be successful in high school, “I think that the benefits outweigh the expectations.”
In contrast, Abramowitz details the struggles of having a legacy to upkeep. Her older brother, Blake Abramowitz ‘21, is currently a junior at Texas Tech University and is set to attend law school after his graduation. She explains,
“Recently, I feel like the way my parents view me is in terms of numbers- my grades. Right now, I have a B or two. They say, ‘Your brother just never stressed at school. He just went to school and he was fine.’” Abramowitz’s transcript is filled with classes of intense academic rigor, including AP Biology, AP Spanish, AP Statistics, AP Literature, AP English Language, AP World History, and AP Macroeconomics.
While Wong was able to receive direct instruction from her brother as she managed her high school academics, Abramowitz experienced less guidance on her path due to a lack of intersection in interests between her and her brother.
Blake Abramowitz recalls his experience guiding his sister through her journey at Cathedral Catholic,
“I think before she entered high school, I tended to give pretty basic advice. It was really only as I got older and when I moved on to college that I really reflected on my own pitfalls as a high school student, and shared advice with her that would ensure she’d be a much stronger student than I was. This is when I realized that, even to a small degree, I’d want to help her out beyond what I’d already shared. I wanted her to have more opportunities available than what I had created for myself.”
Outside of schoolwork, Abramowitz maintains a list of vast extracurricular activities, “I’m definitely better suited in terms of the extracurricular stuff, but at the end of the day, I feel like academics will outweigh it. Even if I’m more well-rounded- if you will- he was just more ‘natural’.”
Blake Abramowitz acknowledges that her motivation to pursue extracurricular activities indicates to him that her future will be bright. Her passion for building community and engaging with her peers will help her to develop as a student and person. Furthermore, these fulfilling activities will aid in her path to college by allowing her to gain valuable life experience.
“She has clearly taken that to heart, mostly because of her own self-determination and willingness to involve herself. She has matured immensely during her time in high school, and whether she fully recognizes it yet or not, has formed a path totally unique to her.”
There is no one way to view the effect of older siblings on a younger sibling’s life journey. While there are the drawbacks of recognition, assumption, and reputation, there are also the benefits of added experience, knowledge, and advice. Between both the advantages and disadvantages, it is vital to recognize every person’s unique journey through the lens of their individual lives.
Abramowitz ‘21 concludes the experience of an older sibling, “I can confidently say, Camila is 10 times the student I was, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in the future because of how she crafted her own high school experience. And though she is deserving of all the credit, I’m still happy to have provided her a blueprint of sorts for success that I didn’t have access or awareness to.
