Mysister is a liar, a smart-mouth, a bad influence, a rebel, and at times, arunaway. She constantly swears, drinks and tramps around town. She is a menacebeyond imagination and has cost my parents hundreds of dollars in fines. Nowonder they have given up on her. Shawna is my sister, hold the jokes,please.

At a glance, she may be mistaken for a teenage boy, due to herunusually short hair. She is short and scrubby in appearance, neither fat northin. The police need no description of Shawna when they are contacted in regardsto her taking off. She usually sports a blue bandana, thinking she's reallysomething. She often wears dark makeup to hide the sadness in her face. Her blueeyes, once so piercing and magnetic, have faded to a deep gray that emithatred.

To the police, Shawna is just another troublemaker vying forattention. To my parents, she is a waste of time and money. I know better: Shawnais a complication, a puzzle, if you will. Every day, I manage to figure her out.Even with all the hell she puts my family through, I have come to a conclusion:my sister is a person with many faults, but aren't we all?

If I could sumup Shawna in one word it would be "confused." She is confused by herfriends who tell her what's cool, how to act, what to say and what to wear. IfShawna would just ignore all the falsehoods brought into her life by her peers,she would be tolerable, even decent. She would be so much better off thinking forherself rather than playing Follow the Leader with her rebellious friends.

Deep down, Shawna is an intelligent, compassionate human being. Whenwe are alone together, we often have intellectual conversations. She also is verycaring, tending to me when I am sick, or retrieving mail for my mother. I knowthat when she displays these traits, the real Shawna shinesthrough.

Shawna is my sister - I cannot avoid that truth. She is the firstchild born of my family, the mistake I must learn from. But truly, what can Ilearn from a liar, smart-mouth, bad influence rebel and at times,runaway?

As the great Tootsie Pop saying goes, "The world may neverknow." But I know in my heart and soul that Shawna really is something. Ihope that one day she will change her behavior, mature and understand that beinga troublemaker doesn't make her a lifelong disappointment. That being a rebeldoesn't deem her a mistake.

Shawna is my sister, hold the jokes, please.