Caden Jean, senior: My nerdy older brother. Born book smart and doesn’t have to try in school to get good grades.

Kamryn Jean, me, sophomore: An A/B minus student for the majority of middle school but who now cries when she gets a B on an assignment.

As you can see, we couldn’t be more different. Caden was born into academic achievement. I sit at my desk until 1:30 a.m. on a Monday night, tears tumbling down my cheeks because I don’t understand when I'm going to use Algebra II in my day-to-day life outside of school. Despite all of my tears, I have kept my straight A streak going since the first grading period of my freshman year.

With my grades and his undeniable intelligence, my parents decided that we should put to the test who the smartest Jean sibling is. Of course, Caden is biased. He’s a senior and he’s taken the classes I’m currently in. However, I don’t see his argument as very fair because I can recall quite a few memories of his complaints in both his freshman and sophomore years.

Despite the numerous complaints I’ve made in the past, and still to this day, I have grown to enjoy school. Receiving an education has become my reason for living. Despite my love for school, putting a competition in the mix of homework, extracurricular activities and all the stress that comes with those things has taken its toll on me.

Caden also faces his challenges. Sleep deprivation, stress of homework, extracurricular activities and a job on top of it all. Although we’re both busy as can be, we tend to argue who has it worse. I think it’s me. I say this because I dance until 8:30 p.m. almost every night. Caden thinks it’s him because of the job he has every few days after school.

We have become so focused on beating each other and being the best that we have created a divide in our relationship. As brother and sister, we are supposed to continuously support each other’s decisions and be there for each other through life’s curveballs. However, we’ve become too stubborn to give up the spot at the top of our family. That’s the problem with sibling rivalries.

Sibling rivalry has single-handedly distanced my brother and I from each other. It has forced us to care more about a grade on a paper than how the other is doing. It pushes us away from what’s most important, because prestige is so much more respected in our society than finding time to check up on one another and ask if we're doing okay.

Through my parents’ lens, sibling rivalry is a motivator and is a way to ignite your desire to do better in school and in life, yet it doesn’t look or feel like that for most siblings. Sure, a little competition never hurts anyone, but the bad outweighs the good in this situation.

The good is that it can be motivating you for your future education and how successful you would like to become. The bad is how intense the rivalry becomes and how our desire to be better than one another gets in the way of our motivation to better ourselves.

In some cases, the risks outweigh the benefits. This is one of those cases. Sibling rivalry could potentially alter the relationship between you and sibling for years to come. It could become a terrible habit, needing to be better than them. It will make you feel worthless. It will create a bitter and sour atmosphere between the both of you.

Sibling rivalry changes your perspective on your sibling almost entirely. It brings you to more tears and causes more stress than school ever could. It holds you to a higher expectation than any teacher or mentor you’ll ever encounter. It drives you insane because you will always feel like your best isn’t good enough if your best is not better than your competitor’s.

Sibling rivalry isn’t just a 95 versus a 94 or the constant need for your parents' attention or approval. Soon enough, sibling rivalry and the way you think and act are correspondent with one another. It doesn’t matter who you’re with anymore. It could be a best friend, significant other or random civilian; sibling rivalry has turned life into a competition wherever you go because that’s all you know. It’s the way you function. It’s the way you push yourself to be superior. It’s your whole life.