Sisters Leaving For College

As the second semester begins seniors are making decisions about college, which turns many siblings into only children at home starting next fall. Soon spring events like prom, April break, even the last day of school will be coming quickly. This seems exciting, but it means that soon most seniors will be going away, leaving their siblings at home. This is true for NHS sophomores Amelia Bossio-Dotolo and Amelia Schmidt as their older sisters, Olivia and Aquinnah respectively, will be going away to college next year. Currently at home it is just their sisters and them, so the adjustment from it being the two of them, to being only one is a huge change. 

The upcoming months before Olivia leaves for college has me thinking about all the times I will go into her room, and she won’t be there. Sometimes I walk in just to borrow clothes, sometimes it's when I’m mad at her, but most of the time it's to just talk to my friend. Now that Olivia will be leaving soon, I won’t be able to just walk in and talk. She’ll be miles away, possibly even in a different time zone, and her room will be empty. I know all we’ll have to do is a quick call to catch up, but it's not the same. As for me, I’m not very good at keeping in touch with people since I’m not a big texter, so I’m worried that we won’t talk as much as we do now and we’ll drift apart. Olivia and I are pretty close compared to many siblings, but when she leaves I’m nervous that won’t stay true. 

When she’s home we get along most of the time, but occasionally, like all siblings, we fight. They are usually little arguments about stupid things like taking each other's stuff, so we never stay mad for long. Even though she annoys me, I think I might miss those little fights. Without them the house will be so quiet. My parents might like that part about less fighting, but besides that, I can’t see many other perks about her leaving. We won’t be able to drive around blasting music or play piano together at home, and there’s so many other things we do that we won’t be able to once she leaves. 

With spring events coming up like prom, I can imagine us posing together with her in her prom dress and me next to her, and I just think about how when it’s my turn, she won’t be there. Then, when it's her senior night I can imagine walking with her as her name gets called out, but then think about my senior night and it’ll just be me. All these big high school moments that I won’t get to share with her since she’ll be gone.

Of course she’ll come back for breaks and over the summer but during most of the year it will just be me. We still have the rest of this school year and this summer, but time moves quickly. Soon the day will come where my parents and I will have to drop her off at college and life will be very different after that. 

My relationship with my sister, Aquinnah,  has been the most rewarding fulfillment of my life. When I need someone to call on, it will always be her. However, before this there was a time where we would fight constantly and stray away from a strong relationship. Living under the same roof for many years causes conflict and builds up feelings of anger. It wasn't until we both matured and related to similar struggles that we found a comforting bond. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find each other sooner because it is only months away from when my sister will leave for college. Nothing about this is negative and college is an amazing and new experience, it’s simply the distance that bothers us. 

I recently was watching old videos with my family from when my sister and I were young. One video showed my sister meeting me for the first time. My sister looked at me with such a gentle look in her eyes, as if she would always love me and be the older sister that I needed. In other videos I noticed the differences between us and our mannerisms. She was calm and held a kind manner to her. On the other hand, I held trouble in my eyes and curiosity for those around me. 

Regardless of the differences in our personalities, from the beginning my sister would make any attempt she could to care for me and to express her love for me. Since day one, I had someone to always love me and watch over me, I simply couldn't realize it at the time. We would spend hours together playing, dancing, and singing. I held such loyalty and admiration for her. Her heart was extremely genuine even at a young age and I was lucky to experience that constant personality. 

However, I think it was hard being two girls around the same age growing up together. The younger sister role I took on included stealing her clothes, copying her style, and making any effort to be somewhat like her. Normal fights would occur between us because of simple things like these. When I grew up, I learned that these fights were not necessary and it had drifted us apart. However, my reason for stealing her things was simply an admiration for her and who she was. I had finally matured and my sister was quite ahead in that part. 

 Today, I look up to her and the achievements she has made. I am lucky to have been there to see it all. Throughout my life, I have never met someone so dedicated, kind, and compassionate. My sister has a heart of gold and a persistent loyalty to everyone in her life. Even if someone in her life doesn't show her respect and kindness, she will always treat them with love and be there for them. For example, she has gone to every single senior league game for her boyfriend Tommy. She hasn't missed one and has always been there to support him, and I have happily gone with her to the games. I have seen her go through the bad and the good aspects of life and she always remains strong and loving through both. 

I am confident she will take these important qualities to college and become extremely successful and powerful in what she does. Temporarily, I am losing my best friend and it’s something I think about everyday. My relationship has come so far with her and has ultimately become my biggest priority this year. Every free moment of my time is spent with her. It doesn't matter what we do together, as long as she's with me, I know everything will be fine. I have been lucky to have such a good relationship with my sister because I always hear people around me complaining about their siblings. I could never imagine telling people anything other than positive things about my sister. 

My uncle Rob said something to my sister and I multiple times about the importance of siblings. He said, “Friends will come and go, but your sister is forever.” This statement he said never really stuck with me, until this year when he repeated it and it suddenly meant everything to me. 

My sister has been the one constant in my life and I am not ready to let go of her and become an only child in my home. The thought of her room being empty, along with her presence, brings tears to my eyes. A part of me is always going to miss her. Even when she comes back for breaks, it will never amount to being in the same house and seeing each other every day. It also upsets me that she won't be there for the rest of my high school career. Soon I will only be able to call her to tell her things.