I’m not complaining here; well yeah…actually, I totally am.*

*This article is serious, but it’s written to be humorous and sarcastic. Nobody in my family should take offense to this. You are all brilliant and I’m so proud to say I have a family full of successful people like yourselves.

My dad is a lawyer. He married my mom, who is also a lawyer. She has three brothers and one sister. One of the brothers is a lawyer. The other two are doctors. Her sister is a medical liaison. Three of the four siblings are married. Their spouses consist of two doctors and a finance professional.

I have three sisters. Two are in high school. They both are looking to go pre-med.

Wait, never mind, the older one just texted me; she said to write that she wants to be a scientist.

I have 11 immediate cousins on my mom’s side of the family. Five of those 11 are in college. One graduated from The University of Michigan with an English degree and now works in New York. Another one is studying business at U of M. Two more are at U of M, pre-med, of course. The last went to The University of Virginia, graduated a semester early, pre-med as well.

I’m at art school.

I love what I do. I am so proud of my major (graphic design). I like my school. I hate family events.

I’m standing next to my cousin who is only a year older than me at my aunt’s birthday party and another aunt walks up to chat and says, “My God, Alex, you just get prettier every time I see you!” And then proceeds to turn to my cousin (who is also good looking) to say, “and Ricky, how’s pre-med at U of M going?” So as I start walking away, because clearly I have no input in this conversation anymore, I think to myself, “Thanks for asking, Tia! My art is going really well. I’ve gotten offers from four different companies for summer internships. I’m at the number three ranked design school in the country. I’m getting all A’s! But yeah…I’m pretty too, I guess.”

I guess I’m sick of being called pretty. No really, I appreciate it and I’m really glad you have all recognized I graduated from the horrific braces and glasses stage in my life, but I am so tired of hearing that from everybody. Thankfully, Ricky the super-smart-pre-med-at-UMich student, also has a gift for creativity and appreciates art, so he asks me about school and my work and even offers up advice.

I am thankful to have a few family members who outwardly support my work. Maybe one day, they will all get on board and realize that to be successful, I don’t have to pursue an advanced major at a traditional university. They’ll see my work in advertisements and company logos and ask about my designs and nobody will mention my looks…or they can afterward. It doesn’t hurt.