How can two people, who grew up in the same household, be so different in the way they believe? One of them happens to be the family's black-sheep, the other an almost carbon-copy of his uncle.
Raised in Texas and two years apart, the siblings grew from birth to adulthood in the same home with the same people around them. The younger of the two, Michael, would grow into a welder, finishing his trade-skill college work just two years after high school.
His older sister, Lucy, would try the waters of college a year after she graduated, flunking out and deciding to say "screw it" to education for the time being. She had no idea how important that would become later on.
Lucy and Michael had to move to a new state, uprooting what they'd come to know and love. They had to leave their relationships behind in the dust as they packed up with their family and moved to Oregon. In a span of three years, they had lost contact with most friends they once had, Michael graduated from high school and Lucy became a customer service rep through Xerox and worked for Sprint. Neither of them were happy, but they were okay for the time being.
Lucy started smoking, be it pot or cigarettes. Michael chose to go with Dip, or what he called "worm-dirt." Eventually, Lucy kicked both habits, not liking the effects they were having on her breathing, while Michael continued to chew.
While Micheal was attending school, Lucy became a caregiver. She was a live-in caregiver and worked 24-7. Just after Micheal finished his schooling, Lucy got pregnant in an abusive relationship. She got stuck for almost a year after she found out she was carrying. Michael thought she was dumb for this decision, knowing that she had done this on purpose. He was right. Lucy was trying to get the abuser to change his ways, also trying to avoid suicide and becoming responsible for another life.
Throughout the pregnancy, Lucy's parents were there for her, though she felt very much alone and afraid when she was left with her boyfriend. Michael didn't find out until after his niece was born that Lucy had been beaten and abused, which pissed him off beyond words.
The final straw for Lucy was when she came home from work to find her 3 month old daughter face down in a bean bag, while her boyfriend was passed out on narcotics in their living room. She had to do something. Michael wasn't aware of this, instead he was out with his girlfriend enjoying life and eating up the gym. Michael had moved out of the house around the time this next happening went down.
Lucy, tired of the usual mental and physical abuse, and scare for the life of her baby, had a friend print up custody papers to have her boyfriend sign. She wanted to get out and take her little angel with her. The man refused, stole the papers, and immediately called in his family for back up. The arrived within 5 hours, coming in from Washington to crowd their already small apartment.
Lucy didn't sleep that night. Her boyfriend, his brother, and their mother guarded the baby's play-pen, which is where she slept, like a few junk-yard dogs that stirred with any sounds. Her car keys had been taken from her, forcing her to travel by foot too and from work the next morning. It turned out that the boyfriend and his family were going to run off with the papers, kidnap the baby, and leave Lucy without a car. Luckily, she knew something was wrong, ran home after telling her manager what was happening, and then had her mother come over before it was too late.
A custody battle came, a restraining order was granted, and Lucy and her little girl were finally free of the nightmare for at least a year. Her nerves weren't calmed on the road when she was finally able to drive a borrowed car provided by her family. The ex-boyfriend would follow her from work in their old car, trying everything he could to intimidate her.
Michael and Lucy ended up in the same house again. He had become rather intolerant of gays, any race that wasn't white, and anyone that was over weight and not working on it. Lucy was the opposite. Lucy ended up with a girlfriend later that year, causing her brother to look at her in disgust. Their mother wasn't too happy about it either, saying that her grandbaby needed a mommy and a daddy, not two moms.
When it came to the most recent election, Lucy was beside herself as she wanted so much for Bernie to make it. The rest of her family supported Trump. When the popular vote was for Hilary, Lucy was ecstatic! Only to be crushed by the out-dated electoral college. Her family rejoiced. Michael even gloated around the house, calling Lucy a libtard at one point. They all tossed the term "snowflake" around like it was some fancy new seasoning that they were peppering their conversations with.
Lucy is now attending college full-time, raising her daughter, and well on her way to becoming an OB/GYN. Michael has sought out his sperm donor (who happens to have abused their mother and sexually assaulted a cousin), is planning on marrying a girl he hasn't known for a year and met on Tinder, and has abandoned his pledge to the military that he made less than six months ago.
How is it that two people raised in the same house can be so different...?
