It’s rare to see my family together in one place. I see my dad’s side more—they are in the states, mostly in the midwest. I used to joke that there was a significant disparity between my cousins vs. my sister and me.

But what astounds me the most is how my cousins—usually a pair (brother and sister, brother and brother or sister and sister)—are so different from each other. There is the ones that married early and had kids in their twenties. Then there is the pair that exhibit filial pity and friendliness to everyone. Then the pair who were born in the “old country” and were the first ones to marry non-Asians. Then there is my sister and me—the free-wheeling females living big on the coasts in large metropolitan cities.

Did our parents have the biggest influences? Perhaps. I can’t help but to draw comparisons and similarities. Would we have been the same if we had different parental guidance?