How to Handle Parents Comparing You to Siblings in Matric

That sounds genuinely painful. You are working hard, and instead of feeling proud of your own effort, you feel measured against someone else's numbers. That hurts, and it is not fair to you. The comparison does not mean you are failing — it means your parents have a narrow way of looking at success, and you are the one carrying the weight of that.

What the comparison does to you

When your sisters' results are brought up again and again, it can make you feel like your own work is invisible. You start to believe that your worth depends on a percentage, and that is a crushing way to live. The pressure is not just about exams — it is about feeling unseen for who you are. Many students in Pakistan face this, and it is one of the hardest things about our education system: the idea that a mark sheet is the only report card of your value.

Small ways to protect yourself

• Say one thing to yourself before you study: "I am doing this for me, not to prove anything to anyone." It sounds small, but repeating it helps separate your effort from their expectations.
• If you can, have a calm conversation with your parents. Not when you are upset. Try: "I know you want the best for me, but when you compare me with my sisters, I feel like my own hard work doesn't matter. Can you please just see my effort, not just the marks?" They may not change overnight, but saying it out loud shifts something inside you.
• Set a personal target that is about learning, not ranking. For example: "This month I will understand three topics I found difficult." That gives you a sense of control.
• Talk to someone who listens without judging — a cousin, a teacher you trust, or even Zara on the Depression.pk site. Sometimes just saying "I feel like I am not enough" takes the poison out of it.

You are not your percentage. The people who will matter in your life — real friends, a good partner, a decent employer — will care about who you are, not how many marks you got in matric. That does not make the pressure disappear, but it is the truth, and holding onto it helps.