Coming to a university two hours away from home seems like a pretty smooth transition compared to others, but it was a little harder than I expected it to be. Ever since my younger sister was born, she’s been my best friend. We do almost everything together. We share clothes, crack up laughing at Tiktoks for hours and are mistaken for twins nearly everywhere we go even though she’s three and a half years younger than me. I knew I was excited to attend the University of Delaware, but I was dreading not being able to see my sister every day.
It hasn’t been awful. She’s glad to have some alone time after school and I’m able to see her on breaks and weekends here and there. She’s even taken some more of my clothes that I left at home (without my permission).
After almost a full semester in college, I’ve started to notice a few things I do or that I’ve grown to love because of my sister.
- Wearing Hoodies
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I know, every college student does this. But when I tell you my sister has the biggest hoodie collection I’ve seen, I mean it. In high school, I was more of a jeans and a cute shirt or sweater kind of person. In college, I’ve grown into the leggings and hoodie stereotype with no shame. Even though I only have one hoodie, I might steal one from my sister when I go home over break just to see if she notices.
- Appreciating Musical Theater
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The two of us attended an arts school from first to eighth grade, so music has always been a huge part of our lives. However, sometime in the last two years, my sister became invested in listening to one full musical every other week to the point where that was all she would listen to. We were both in musicals through middle school, so I was interested in a few shows here and there, but now it’s like she’s in my head making me just as obsessed as she is with musicals like “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” and “Bare: A Pop Opera.” And I’m not complaining. Hell, I even have a playlist that’s nearly six hours long and filled with musical theater songs.
- Taking in All the Alone Time I Can Get
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I’ve never been the child who spends a whole lot of time in their room. I prefer hanging out in the living room with the rest of the family to watch TV. My sister is more than likely in her bedroom until it’s time for dinner. That most likely has to do with her room being way cooler than mine in terms of decorations. Mine still looks like it did when we first moved in other than the bed and two small shelves. Now, I’ve learned to appreciate my alone time when and where I can get it. I enjoy having the dorm room to myself on the weekends when my roommate goes home. As an introvert, it’s good to just have your own space where you can recharge and be with yourself for a little while. Apparently, it took me being away from my other half to figure that out.
- The Method of Brushing My Teeth
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Okay, this one is very specific, but I swear I didn’t start doing it until I got up here. The way I brush my teeth is simple: I run my toothbrush under the water, put toothpaste on it then brush. My sister always runs her toothbrush under the water before and after putting toothpaste on it. I always thought this was unnecessary and weird, but now I do it twice a day. So maybe she was right all along.
Being away from my sister for weeks at a time hasn’t been an easy thing to get through, but I’m at least glad that it allows us to look forward to seeing each other that much more. It also doesn’t hurt to message her to the point of being clingy every now and then.