I recently watched a powerful video of a woman my age, born the same year as me, openly sharing her struggles on social media. We both grew up in similar tier-3 cities or towns, and it was striking how much our mindsets aligned. Even if her background was more affluent than mine, I immediately connected with her experience.
Though she hadn't yet fully revealed the source of her pain, I had a strong intuition about it. She's a woman with only sisters. This resonated deeply with me because I have several friends from my childhood and college who also grew up in all-girl households. While I still wish I'd had a sister, I've witnessed some of the unique challenges these friends have faced.
I remember my parents talking about how, in their time, families often preferred not to marry their sons to girls who didn't have brothers. The belief was that without brothers, a girl would lack long-term ties to her original family after her parents were gone. One of my closest childhood friends, Kunu, didn't have a brother. Tragically, she passed away at a young age, and the reasons were never entirely clear to me.
Another college friend, who has two elder sisters, often shares the difficulties they've encountered with parental property and the disagreements that arose between the sisters after marriage. In some ways, it makes me feel like they behave more like brothers who drift apart after marriage. Yet, I also see my mother and aunt, both sisters, thoroughly enjoying their old age together. They aren't dependent on us or my cousins; instead, they prefer to live together, chatting about their childhoods in retirement, just like two best friends.
I'm incredibly grateful to the woman who is bravely sharing her story publicly. It takes immense courage to reveal your vulnerabilities and what you've been through. No one's life is a smooth, one-way road filled only with happiness. Most of our lives are marked by numerous U-turns, steep downhill slopes, and only brief periods of effortless upward movement. It's truly difficult to find such genuine openness in people these days.
What are your thoughts on shared experiences and the complexities of family dynamics?
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