This week's confession comes from our anonymous Confession Booth group in the TrèsSugar Community. Weigh in with your advice below.
I'm so annoyed my sister is pregnant, considering I'm supposed to get married in 6 months. She just announced it. Way to steal my thunder.
There's lots of great stuff going on in our community — join it, check it out, share your posts or advice in the great groups, and maybe we'll feature it here on TrèsSugar!
"I admire her and continue to admire her. That might play into the reason I don't have much of a problem letting the women I've worked with shine. I love women."
— Jake Gyllenhaal tells Esquire UK that admiration for his sister Maggie has helped him honor all women. Just another benefit of having a sister!
Parents aren't supposed to have favorites, but they totally do. Sometimes it's as simple as birth order and personality, as complex as a personality connection, or as unfair as gender. So let's talk about unfairness. A survey, which spoke to 2,500 moms in the UK, determined sons really are mommas' boys.
Though one-half of moms (or should I say mums) acknowledge it's unfair to treat children differently, 90 percent confessed to doing so. They're twice as likely to be more critical of daughters, resorting to Britishisms like "stroppy" (touchy) to describe girls. Meanwhile boys are "funny," "playful," and, of course, "cheeky."
So whether you have brothers, sisters, or both, tell us if you felt like the favored child by either parent. Or not.
Source: Flickr User leeno
Siblings teach us how to maintain friendships, get along with different people, and resolve conflict, but sisters do all that while making us happier.
Researchers at Brigham Young University followed 395 families with more than one child — with at least one between 10 and 14 — for a year. Regardless of age differences or birth order, those with sisters were less likely to feel unloved or experience negative emotions like loneliness, guilt, self-consciousness, and fear.
As for the negative effects of sibling rivalry? While hostility is associated with a greater risk of delinquency, the skills learned from working out problems is invaluable. In fact, the greatest indicator of problems later in life has nothing to do with fighting at all, but a lack of affection between siblings — whether it's a sister or a brother.
Source: Flickr User Jessica Higgins
Last week, one of my pals here at Sugar HQ told me a frightening story. While talking to her younger sister, she mentioned a nightmare date she went on with a guy she met online. As she started describing the guy and his aggressive touchy-feely nature, her sister wanted to hear more. Turns out the sister had been out with the same jerk a few times before! My friend was less than pleased, especially since this man probably knew they were related and never said anything. Still, not all siblings-dating-the-same-person stories are the same. Just like with friends, your sister might recognize that her ex could be your perfect match or vice-versa. Have you ever dated the same person as your sibling?
The Knowles sisters both looked fierce today in Japan, where they are promoting handbags for Disney. Beyonce and her younger sister Solange both like to sing, but they seem to rock different personal styles and public personas. For example, when Solange shaved her head last month, the Twitter-happy sister explained to her tweeps: "i. just. wanted. to. be. free. from. the. bondage. that. black. women sometimes. put. on. themselves. with. hair." (Punctuation hers.) And Beyonce says that she turns to her sister, who happens to be a mother, for lessons on life: "She gives me a lot of advice because she's had some life experiences that I've never had." When it comes to you and your siblings, are you mirror images of each other or more like exact opposites?
I'm a forgetful person by nature and my older sister takes every opportunity possible to call me irresponsible.
Friday night her boyfriend surprised her and took her away for the night to celebrate their anniversary. She asked me to feed her cat while she was gone since I have a set of her keys, so while at her place, I browsed through her closet. I decided to borrow her leather jacket that I've always loved to wear out that night — I figured she'd never realize it was gone!
Later that evening, I went out with my friends, admittedly drank too much and went home with a guy I had been flirting with all night. In the morning, I rushed out of his place in order to get back to my sister's to feed her cat. As soon as I got out of the cab, I realized I had left her jacket in the backseat! My heart sank; it's her favorite article of clothing and she didn't even give me permission to borrow it! I've been guilt-ridden for the past two days and have no idea what to do. My sister is going to be furious with me and I just can't face her disappointment, even though I know I deserve it. I haven't mentioned it to her and I'm contemplating not saying anything at all. Can I be forgiven if I let her think someone else took it or that she herself lost it?
Five American women's colleges are taking their admissions presentations overseas — to the Middle East. School officials have been speaking with young women in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
The appeal to Middle Eastern women is paradoxically natural and awkward. Single-sex education is the norm in the Middle East; however, liberal ideas espoused on traditionally free-thinking American female institutions do not find a home in the conservative region.
Middle Eastern women attending a "Sister" say they enjoy the invigorating political climate on campus. But, one thing did shock many at first — open displays of homosexual affection. One student said:
At the beginning, there were times when I’d have to close my eyes and say, "O.K., I’m at Mount Holyoke, and it’s different." But that lasted only a week or so, and now I have so many friends who are openly gay, and it makes no difference.
Ironically, the biggest challenge for the admissions officers isn't appeasing fears that the schools will be too wild, nor the opposite — convincing them that they are not nunneries. Instead, the schools must sell the value of a liberal arts education, as opposed to a professional degree. Do you think they can pull that off in the Middle East?
Dear Sugar,
I live with my sister. She has a boyfriend, and they've been together for almost a year. At first, she would go stay at his house and he would come stay at ours on limited occasions, but now he comes over almost daily. Instead of leaving in the morning like he used to, he's been hanging around until mid-afternoon. When we first moved in together, I had no idea that I'd have two roommates, and truth be told, I'm sick of it! He eats our food, uses our bathroom, and they are always all over each other and he just takes up way too much space. Do you have any suggestions to help me deal with this situation? — Needing Space Stacia
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