A Brother Like No Other

By Gina Pedroza

Having a decent upbringing and both parents present can bring stability into children's lives, but for some people that isn't the case. For Eunice Rios, a senior at Yerba Buena, instead of having her mom and dad, she had her older brother, Miguel.

Eunice was born into a family of five, Rios being the youngest of three children. She explained that she wasn't close with either of her parents or her older sister.

“I really wouldn't see my mom as much. We would talk for a little bit, but we weren't really close.”

Eunice explained that she had a strained relationship with both of her parents due to them always working and that they weren't all that present in her life growing up but didn't notice the absence until she got older.

“Since they really wouldn't be there i didn't notice, but as i got older i started to notice and i got kind of upset.” Said Rios.

She spent most of her time reading and writing which helped her through the struggles of growing up without the connection of her parents, “It helped me alot, there were some times where i would feel alone and it would help me feel better, i just had to write down how i felt without letting anyone know how i felt.”

But when writing wouldn't help, Eunice would talk to her older brother, Miguel.

“I tell him everything, we have a very close connection. I'm close with my sister as well but she wasn't really there in my childhood, so i have a better connection with my brother than with anyone.” Eunice explained.

When she was younger she would also rely on her brother because he wouldn't expect things from her or judge her the way that her parents did. Her brother would take her out to eat or just to have a bit of fun with her friends

“There was this time when I was little and my parents expected a lot for me, there was this test that I failed and my parents were pretty upset. So instead i went to my brother and he would take me out to go to the mall and he would even call my friends to come over. And when i wouldnt have anyone to play with he would play with me.” Rios said.

As Eunice grew older her parents began to realize their absence in their daughters life and tried their hardest to insert themselves into her daily life. Slowly but surely Rios’ mom, Olivia, opened up to her daughter and began to bond with her by sharing their feelings and experiences.

“As the time started passing by, I started having a good connection with her, she doesnt work now which makes it easier to have a connection with her. We talk a lot now. There's not a day that goes by where we don't talk, don't laugh. She would tell me how she felt and I would do the same.” Rios said.

Even though Eunice had a difficult time maintaining a connection with her parents when she was younger, with help of her older brother, she finally developed a deeper and meaningful connection with at least one of her parents, that parent being her Mom.