On May 4 of 2012, my Manita was born in the Dominican Republic. At first I felt jealous because all her attention was from her and I was only ten years old. But MIMANITA became my everything. I learned how to change a baby’s diaper for the first time, to feed him among many other things. MIMANITA, no matter how big she is, I will always continue to see her as a baby. She was my first Manita. I lived ten years of my life as an only daughter and then you will come into my life. I changed my whole life because with only 10 years I had the privilege of taking care of her and always being there for her when she needs me.

As time went by, I found out that I had more responsibility for what example I wanted to give my Manita since all children copy everything they see. I like to be an example for her and to copy all the good things about me. Of course we have a slightly different character but I still want the best for her. To this day I still have the responsibility of setting a good example because I am the oldest Manita. In spite of how strict she is, my mother always likes to show and tell my Manita that she can trust me. Apart from being her sister I am her friend. It’s as if they have two in one with the word Manita. IN ENGLISH it does not sound the same as in Spanish because Manita I came as a sister in Spanish. I use the same concept with my brother who has been my Manita.

My Manita influences my life a lot because I don’t want her to go through the mistakes that I made. When I started learning to read, I had a bad time trying to learn how to read. Usually my mom sat with me to teach me but the way she did it wasn’t the right thing to do. at that moment she felt ususada to read the letter that she was saying to me wrong because she was going to scold me. something that my mom didn’t have at that time was patience. In my case, I always try to be patient with my brother. When it comes to explaining any homework given to My manita at school, I try to explain to her in a way that she understands and that keeps her interested. because the format of schools is sometimes boring and does not hold the interest of children. and I try to do everything possible for MY little hand to learn.

I remember that there are still people who see me walking with that beautiful girl and ask me who she is. And they are surprised when I tell them that she is my sister. Well, because we have different eye colors and some think that we don’t look alike. At first I felt bad and there was a moment in my life that my self-esteem was on the floor. because I saw that people considered my sister prettier. Most of the people asked me why don’t we draw the same eyes if we are sisters? and my answer was simply that we are daughters of different parents. But deep down in that comment I felt insecure and bad. until I realized that everyone in the world is special. She wasn’t white or blue-eyed but she was La morenita  of the family. and I had the privilege of being very similar to my beautiful mother. My Manita  does not look so much like me but nevertheless the affection we have for each other is conditional.

My Manita is very attached to me. I remember when in my junior year of high school she went on a field trip to Washington DC for three days. She always called me face-time from her tablet. I spent the three days that I was on the ride bored and sad. Whenever I am going to go somewhere I have to give her explanations as if she were my mother. She always wants to be where I am. But we have different ages and I can’t take her to places where there are no children because she will get bored. Anyway, I have to leave her at home even if it hurts to leave her crying. when I go out my Manita she always waits for me to be awake so that I can drag her back. she doesn’t fall asleep if I don’t. She is such a great attachment that she has on me that the truth is I don’t know if I am doing her a harm. I don’t know if I did something wrong in Añoñarla so much. but I like that she feels loved and safe with me and that I am the first person that she tells her when she needs help with something.