There are some perks to being about 800 meters away from your sister in university, like easy access to a closet full of clothes to borrow. But this closeness can also cause some drama when Waterloo and Laurier are brought up at the dinner table. Here are just a few things that we’ve experienced as sisters at rival universities:
Fighting for the support of your other family members
If your parent is one university’s alum, then turning them into a fan of your own is already a lost cause. If not, make sure you stake your claim at Christmas and hook mom or dad up with some of your university’s merch.
You get used to people comparing your education
How do you explain to someone that your school is better for your program but that your sister’s school is just as good for other fields? You don’t, because some people don’t understand that STEM and the Arts are completely different (but equally valuable) fields.
You feel like an intruder when you visit each other’s campuses
You can’t help but feel like you stick out like a sore thumb and wonder if everyone’s looking at you. Can they tell one of these things is not like the other?
You don’t understand each other’s school traditions
Don’t walk on the Hawk! Purpling? If you don’t go there then these traditions just won’t make sense to you!
Or the names and acronyms for certain buildings…
We eat in the DH, you eat in a cafeteria, right? What about studying – DC, or DP, or the 24 vs. the concourse? Trying to help one sister out with directions on campus is useless; some things are just lost in translation.
We fight over who will come visit who
I mean, Laurier does throw a pretty crazy street party every March, but Waterloo also has… nothing, never mind, Laurier hosts that, too! All in all, even deciding which side of University Ave. to meet up on for ice cream is no small feat.
Someone is always there to dish it, but not receive it
There is always one sister who could sit with a bag of chips and trash the other’s school until she’s blue in the face, but the second something about their own comes up, all hell breaks loose. This point goes to Vanessa!
Despite our rivalry, we band together for important causes and support each other
The rivalry is set aside when it comes to supporting the UW/WLU communities triumphs and pitfalls, like advocating for mental health services. There is no bigger cheerleader than your sister!
You always have a buddy for UW/WLU events
You can always count on knowing one face up in the stands, even if they are painted black and gold in a sea full of purple and yellow. Having a sister at UW/WLU sports and social events comes in handy if you’ve got nobody to sit with!
At the end of the day, no silly rivalry will ever tear us apart. Plus, there are bigger fish to fry – we can always bond over our mutual dislike for Queens and Western.