When They Finally Cared, I Was Gone

On college decision night, my entire family crowded around my twin sister, Lily. My brother Ethan pulled up a map of Boston and compared the distance between her dorm and his campus. Ryan, my childhood best friend, gave up his place at McGill because Lily admitted she was scared to start college without someone familiar nearby. My parents couldn't have been happier. Now Lily would always have someone ready to take care of her. It took them most of the evening to remember that I had a decision to make too. "Nora has always been our independent one," Mom said, choosing for me without so much as looking up. "She can go to UMass Boston. It's close to Lily, so she can help out on weekends." No one asked which schools had accepted me. No one knew there was still an offer from Scotland sitting in my inbox. If they had never planned to let me have a life of my own, I no longer owed them updates about it. I turned my laptop away from them and accepted my place at the University of Edinburgh. For once, I chose the place farthest from all of them.