Siblings Leaving for College
by Ronnie Simon
2,430.25 miles. This is the distance I will have to travel next year in order to steal some of my favorite clothes from my sister. For sixteen years I have only had to walk about five feet to raid her closet but now that she is leaving for college next year, it is all about to change. She has been my crutch forever and I could always have her shoulder to lean on, literally, and now I’ll have to go pretty far to actually do that. In multiple situations, she has been the person I rely on, especially as my chauffeur, and she is the only person who fully understands the hardships of having to deal with our crazy and overbearing parents. Every younger sibling has to go through this eventually, but it tends to be particularly hard when your sibling is your best friend.
Sophie and Jonas
The McMullens will be going through quite the change next year, considering this is the first of three kids in the family who will be leaving for college. Next year Sophie, the eldest sibling, will be attending University of California, Berkeley, while her younger brother, Jonas will be staying at CCA for the next two years. The two consider themselves very close, and have many memories from their two years of high school together. Jonas and Sophie spend a lot of time together, and also with their younger brother Drew, doing things like going to get Mexican food and eating it on the beach together. The two both explained how it will be extremely hard next year without having someone to always go to; however, Jonas is licensed now so the two can meet each other halfway. Of course, the Mexican food won’t be as good in the middle, so Jonas said they will have to wait until Sophie comes back home to do their Mexican food and beach ritual. Jonas is not looking forward attending CCA without his older sister because he enjoys being able to have that person always there for him and he doesn’t want to end up being “sad and lonely”. He also is going to miss all the homework help Sophie would provide him with . Sophie said that she is going to be crying everyday because she “won’t get to see his shiny little face everyday”. Jonas said that the hardest part for him in all of this will be the fact that all of his family won’t be under the same roof ever again and it is just a sad thought for him since it has been that way for his entire life. “Everything will be so much different around the house without you there, and mom will always be on my back about everything when you leave, unless you like fail college and come home unemployed but I doubt that will happen. I have faith in you.” He also said it will be extremely quiet at the house once Sophie leaves because she is very crazy and leads most of the conversations in their household. Sophie believes that being able to go to school with a sibling is just a really amazing thing because she enjoys just being able to pass by him and have lunch together, so it will be very hard for her not to be able to do that anymore. Jonas is also nervous because he is going to be the only one there for their younger sibling Drew (sometimes called Chubby Bunny) when he first enters high school and Jonas doesn’t know if he is ready to mentor him in his time of need. Jonas plans on visiting her fairly often and he knows that he will be able to see her during the holidays, and he is very thankful that she is going to be in California other than the alternative of her going to college in the east coast. “We have a lot of great destressing times together, like we have our test songs that we listen to when we both have a test that day and just making things that would normally be sucky and making them fun.” One thing that they both believe will change the most next year is the fact that they will have to become more independent since they will not have each other to rely on. Either to drive each other around or help out with projects, but they are hoping that this is just a new step in their sibling relationship. Some advice Jonas gave Sophie for her entering the college world next year is, and I quote, “have fun! But don’t go too crazy. It’s a wild world out there. God help us.” They are enjoying their last couples months together, but they are both ready for a new chapter in their lives.
Hannah and Evelyn
The Gonzalez sisters have been through this situation two times already with their older brother and sister, but this time it is a bit different for them. Next year Hannah will be attending Westminster College in Salt Lake City Utah, about 750 miles from her younger sister Evelyn. With their two older siblings the transition of them leaving wasn’t as hard as it is for the two now because they consider each other best friends. Hannah has a hard time being away from her sister, so she believes that one of the hardest parts about going to college is going to be leaving her sister at home. She is excited about the new experiences to come with college but is going to miss having her sister there for her. Hannah and Evelyn enjoy going to concerts together and getting boba, so not being able to do that next year is going to be difficult for the both of them. Evelyn does not look forward to going through high school without her sister saying “it’s not gonna be very fun trying to survive CCA without you”. Fortunately, they have a lot of extended family in Utah, so Evelyn will be able to visit her sister quite often. Hannah says that she is going to miss not having someone who understands her sense of humor so well and Evelyn is going to miss having someone to drive her around everywhere, and also having someone to vent to. These two are partners in crime and have broken into a country club pool once or twice together. They know each other’s limits and abilities and can anticipate what the other one is going to think. Hannah and Evelyn both cherish their relationship with each other very much and plan on calling and texting each other everyday to keep in touch.
Peter and Christine
While Peter Shoemaker will be making his way to University of California, Los Angeles next year, Christine will be finishing up her last two years of high school here at CCA. The two describe their relationship as “amazing” and Peter said that even if they were not related he would still want to be best friends with Christine. Christine even made a sign for Peter to ask someone to prom with. The two are both very sad that they will not be able to see each other as often, but Peter said that he is ready for the next chapter in his life. They would always go surfing together and it made them both feel safer in the water as they knew they had someone out there with them in case anything bad happened. Fortunately, Peter will only be a short two hour drive away and Christine plans on driving that route fairly often. Christine said that she going to miss have her big brother there to protect her from everything, “like fighting off the boys that comment on my Instagram account”, and Peter said that he is going to miss not being able to meet all the people that Christine associates herself with because he tends to meet a lot of really great people through Christine. People he normally wouldn’t talk to. Next year, Christine will become an only-child in the household so all the attention will be on her next year and she is quite nervous for that. She is also nervous about not having Peter there because he would always be the buffer and voice of reason between the fights with her mom, so not having that will be an adjustment for her. Some advice that Christine has for Peter leaving for college is don’t party too hard, but also, don’t be afraid to have fun.
Sam and Jackie
Next year, older sister, Sam Tullie will be a long flight all the way across the country at New York University, from her younger sister, Jackie. The two have not experienced this yet so this transition is going to be pretty difficult for them considering that they are so close in age. Being only one year apart, the two said that they tend to go through the same things at relatively the same time, and also share most of the same friends. Jackie is nervous about having all the attention on her at home while going through to process of college apps, but she is hoping that her little sister will also take some of that attention away from her. She is also nervous about having to be a role model for their younger sister, much like Sam was for Jackie. Sam is very excited for this new step in life, but she also knows that it will be extremely difficult for her the first couple months not having her sibling and family there for her when she needs it, but she does think that this is going to be a good change and opportunity to figure things out for herself. They have never had to live without each other so they know that it will be quite difficult just not having that person always there for them. Fortunately, the Tullies have family in New York, so Jackie will be able to visit her pretty often, and Sam also plans to come home for every single holiday her freshman year. Jackie plans on going to college in the east coast as well, so the two will only really be separated for one short year, and then they plan on taking over the city together. One thing they will miss the most about not having their sibling there for them is the sleepovers that they would have together. They would both meet up in one of their rooms while watching movies and chatting all night long. Some advice that Sam has for Jackie as she finishes up high school is “don’t stress out so much because ultimately it will all work out for you and I know that you will do great things in life”.
Everyday it gets closer and closer to the day when I am going to have to say goodbye to my sister, and most of the time I try to ignore the fact that she is actually leaving. There are so many crazy things that we would do, like driving down to Clairemont at night just to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coordinating our outfits on spirit week, that I won’t be able to do anymore and it’s pretty surreal. I’m going to miss all the life advice she offers and the disapproving look she gives me when I do something wrong, but most of all I’m just going to miss her. But, 2,430.25 miles has got nothing on us.