For 18 years of my life and 16 years of my younger sister Sadie’s, we lived together in Maine. We shared bedrooms, clothes, car-rides and so much more. My mom always told us that sisters were built in best friends, but how do you maintain that connection when college takes one sister three-and-a-half hours from home and the other 37 hours?
My college decision brought me to the University of Connecticut in Storrs, a town that many affectionately call “cow town.” As a senior studying human development and family sciences, I have become accustomed to being away from home, but last fall my Sadie started her college experience and it was her turn to adjust to her life away from home. Sadie started her freshman year at Montana State University in fall 2024 studying ecology with a concentration in conservation biology. Not only was this a major adjustment in workload compared to high school, but she also had to adjust to a new place where she knew no one, a time difference, and no face-to-face contact with family.
Over the last academic year, Sadie and I have navigated staying connected in our busy lives through combinations of FaceTime calls, texts, Instagram reels, and even physical letters (I know, totally archaic for two college students). We are always looking for more ways to be connected in our separate lives and we were inspired by a recent TikTok trend: Day in Our Lives videos. Neither of us are really TikTokers, so we decided to do the trend in article-form!
Keep in mind as you read that I live in the Eastern Standard Time zone (EST) and Sadie lives in the Mountain Daylight Time zone (MDT), therefore I am two hours ahead of Sadie.
8am EST / 6am mdt
My alarm went off at eight on Wednesday, October 15. As I usually do, I scrolled through my phone for a few minutes before getting up to start my day. My morning routine is pretty simple, but grounding. I wash my face, brush my teeth, get dressed, and fill my water bottle. Around 8:30, I left my apartment to walk to my first class of the day. It was a crisp fall morning, and campus was already alive with students heading to class.
Meanwhile, in Montana, it was only six in the morning. Sadie was still asleep, enjoying her well-deserved rest after a busy Monday and Tuesday.
9am est / 7am mdt
At nine, I was sitting in my biology lecture, where we learned about hormones and diabetes. This class is an introductory-level Biology course for non-STEM majors, so it’s fairly straightforward, but the lectures are always engaging. A lot of the material is familiar to me on a surface level, but I’ve enjoyed digging a little deeper and understanding the mechanisms behind things I already knew.
Across the country, Sadie’s alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. She got up and got ready for her morning run, two miles on a chilly 35 degree morning. I’d imagine there were layers involved and, hopefully, some pre- and post-run stretching (Sorry, I’ll always have to play the big sister role!).
10 am est / 8 am mdt
My biology lecture ended a little early, so by the time 10 rolled around, I was at the gym getting ready for upper body day. I did three sets of six to twelve reps of each exercise: bicep curls, tricep dips, overhead presses, front and side lateral raises, and bent-over rows. I like that routine because it leaves me feeling strong and energized. For me, it’s not a real gym session without at least a little cardio, so I finished with a 30-minute incline walk on the treadmill while listening to a podcast.
Sadie wrapped up her run a little after eight and got herself ready for the day. She showered, got dressed, and made breakfast with her boyfriend, Marcus. Marcus moved to Montana with Sadie for the school year and works installing flooring in Bozeman. He really enjoys Montana, and I think he also appreciates not having to do long-distance anymore.
11 am est / 9 am mdt
By 11, I was wrapping up my gym session with a short core circuit that included planks, curls, and Russian twists. Afterwards, I rewarded myself with Starbucks — my go-to Strawberry Açaí Lemonade, no berries. I walked home with my drink, started some laundry, and turned on House of the Dragon while I folded clothes.
Coincidentally, Sadie also got Starbucks, probably around the same time. Sister telepathy! Even funnier, we have the exact same order, right down to skipping the berry inclusions. After grabbing her drink, she walked to her first class of the day, enjoying a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains along the way.
12 pm est / 10 am mdt
At noon, I made myself an omelet with spinach, onions, and mozzarella cheese for lunch. I kept watching House of the Dragon while I cooked, ate, and cleaned up. Once the kitchen was tidy again, I answered a few emails and reviewed notes for my upcoming biology exam next Friday.
Sadie was in her first class of the day, an earth science lecture where she learned about the Paleozoic period, when complex life began evolving in the oceans and moving onto land. As a STEM major at MSU, Sadie has had some incredible hands-on learning experiences, including touring one of the largest dinosaur bone collections in North America, housed only minutes from campus.
1 pm est / 11 am mdt
At one, I sat down to study for my upcoming biology exam, reviewing topics like animal and plant diversity. I made a Quizlet and studied until I felt relatively confident. I decided to take a short break to scroll on my phone and accidentally fell asleep… whoops! Luckily, I woke up in time for my next commitment at two.
Sadie walked back to her apartment from campus planning to make lunch, but the universe had other plans. She realized she was locked out and had to turn around and walk back to campus. Luckily, she only lives a ten minute walk from campus, so it wasn’t too big of a hassle.
2 pm est / 12 pm mdt
I walked to my discussion section, where I met up with a few friends for peer editing. We reviewed drafts of a paper we have due next week about career planning and exploration of a field of interest. I worked on revising a section that summarizes an interview I conducted with a few lawyers about their career paths.
Meanwhile, Sadie was in her microbiology lecture, learning about mitosis and how cells replicate, one of those foundational topics that always offers plenty more to learn.
3 pm est / 1 pm mdt
My discussion section ended early, so I joined my friends at a thrift pop-up in the center of campus. We browsed through racks of vintage jeans, sweaters, and dresses. I almost bought an oversized sweater but ultimately decided against it. I ran into two of my roommates there, and we grabbed a snack together before I walked to my biology lab.
Sadie was being extra studious at this time, studying in the library with a few friends. She always has a lot of homework and studying to do outside of class time and she is always good about getting it done.
4 pm est / 2 pm mdt
My biology lab began, and our group took notes on slides about invertebrates and their unique characteristics. We discussed the Linnaean Classification System and practiced classifying a few mystery samples. I identified a really creepy looking spider sample.
Sadie was in her elective music class learning about Mozart and his sister, Nannerl. I didn’t even realize she was taking a music class, so this project actually helped me learn something new about her!
5 pm est / 3 pm mdt
I was still in lab when our professor took us on a brief tour of UConn’s Biology Collections. I had no idea how extensive it was. The collection houses over two million preserved organisms. That day, we saw everything from a polar bear skin to a Carolina parrot (an extinct species) and even a newly discovered type of lichen that hasn’t been named yet. It was fascinating.
Meanwhile, Sadie began her Chemistry lab, where she performed an acid-base titration experiment. I enjoyed thinking about her doing this because I’ve seen TikTok’s of titration experiments and was therefore able to imagine her as the person in the lab coat.
6 pm est / 4 pm mdt
After lab, I met up with my friend Maddie, who’s also a Her Campus member. We walked to my apartment but didn’t go inside — instead, we got in my car and drove downtown to Moe’s for dinner. The sunset was gorgeous on the way there. We both got burritos, chips, and queso and ate in the loud restaurant with what looked like a middle school girls’ soccer team celebrating a win.
Sadie was still in her lab finishing up her experiment.
7 pm est / 5 pm mdt
After dinner, Maddie and I drove to our weekly Her Campus meeting — Merch Day! Our new fall t-shirts had just arrived, so we picked them up and took a quick bonding group photo. We also talked about HuskyTHON, UConn’s annual fundraiser for Connecticut Children’s Hospital, and their mission for this year.
Meanwhile, Sadie’s lab wrapped up, and she and Marcus drove out to Gallatin National Forest for a quick evening hike. Since the forest is slightly higher in elevation than Bozeman, they found snow, enough for Sadie to build a small snowman and send a picture to our family group chat.
8 pm est / 6 pm mdt
I dropped Maddie off after our meeting and finally headed home. I showered, called my boyfriend, and worked on an assignment for my family resiliency class. I was writing about coping mechanisms and family adaptability, which always makes me reflect on how my own family supports one another during stressful times.
Sadie and Marcus finished their hike and grabbed dinner from Pita Pit, one of their go-to spots. They brought their sandwiches back to the apartment and ate there.
9pm est / 7 pm MDT
Once I finished my homework, I packed my bag for the next day and joined my roommates in the living room to watch Grey’s Anatomy. I ate my leftover burrito and chips and just relaxed for the rest of the night before heading to bed around 11:30.
Sadie’s night wound down around the same time. She hung out with her roommates for a bit, finished up some homework, and got ready for bed around 10:30.
Even though Sadie and I live two time zones apart, our days often overlap in funny, unexpected ways, from matching Starbucks orders to studying at the same time without realizing it. Writing about our day side by side reminded me how distance doesn’t weaken connection; it just changes how it looks. While my view might be of UConn’s fall leaves and hers of Montana’s mountains, our routines still mirror each other in the little things — busy class schedules and prioritizing time with friends. It’s comforting to know that no matter where we are, we’re still living life on parallel paths, cheering each other on across the country.