Lena she was named after the legendary singer, actress and activist Lena Horne. I was named after the great, and wise poet Maya Angelou.

Ever since I was born into this world I quickly realized that my older sister Lena was my parent’s pride and joy along with every one else. If you asked who they paid attention to most between her and I, they would say her name first in a heart beat. When we were little kids she was the one people noticed first, she would get the “awww she’s so cute, adorable, and sweet”. While I stood there watching for them to mention me only seconds later.

I knew to their ignorant minds she was prettier than I because she was the light skinned little girl with the long pretty hair. In our minds we were conditioned to think that Light was better because it was the closest to White. Hmm So when it came to me and my dark skin I was easily shunned. Many people didn’t want to see it that way or say it, but I knew it all along. Its not that I had a color complex but lets just say my sister never heard the same negative comments to her face, that were said to mine. She’ll never know that pain.

I suck at sports and I always did. Besides Dad never took me out to a tennis court to play a few rounds. I guess he saw since I sucked so bad there was no use and trying to teach me. But as for Lena, Daddy was flat out dedicated to her and that damn tennis racket. He basically spent the first fifteen years of her life living through her, in hopes of seeing her play against Serena or Venus Williams one day.

Lena had everything I wanted, and I loved her with all my heart, I mean I wanted to be just like her. But since she had everything. All I wanted was something for me that I could call my own. And when I thought I had finally had it, she took that too. I arrived in this world already fucked over, and all I wanted to do was finally take control of my own life and in the process get what she had always had. But I never expected for this to happen…