My relationship with my older sister has always been complicated to say the least. More recently, we have gotten closer and formed a friendship. We would always go to get food together or the store or wherever. It was always a fun time to hang out with her. However, last year, she graduated from highschool. Unfortunately, her senior year was the year I was the closest with her. It’s unfortunate because we hadn’t really gotten along until that point. And when we finally did get along, there was limited time left.

She had been looking into colleges for a while and was narrowing down her choices. She really wanted to go to Elon in North Carolina since she really liked the school and my dad also went there. It is a tougher school to get into, so we just waited for her application to be accepted. She also looked into closer schools such as Virginia Western, Virginia Tech, Radford, and others but it was obvious her heart was set on Elon. We finally heard back from Elon and they accepted her. So after talking with my parents and family she decided to officially enroll. She seemed excited and happy and we continued to hangout all the time. I spent a lot of the summer with her but it slowly and slowly got closer to the day she had to leave.

When that day finally came, it was bittersweet. We drove two cars down there because she was able to have her car there and we needed one to drive back. We walked around the town and campus; the weather was really nice and the campus was really pretty. We ate lunch and moved her into her dorm. We then had dinner with her and went back to sleep in a hotel. The next day was when we would have to say goodbye and go back home. She seemed really excited as we decorated her dorm and moved all of her stuff in. She also got along well with her roommate and I know that she was glad about that. That morning, we had breakfast and added some final things to her room. Then it was time to leave. The only emotional ones were my sister and mom who both shed a couple of tears. My dad, my little sister, and I were able to hide it better than they could, but it was obvious that we’d all miss her while she was not home. We all exchanged hugs with her and said bye. My mom continued to cry as we walked to the car. I had never had a long road trip driving by myself, so my parents let me drive home which helped take my mind off of my sister being gone. I remember not thinking about much on the trip home. Three hours later, we finally got back home. I think it definitely took a couple of weeks to get used to her not being at home anymore and took a couple of days to wrap my mind around it. To me, it almost felt as if I had lost my closest friend, but as I further thought about it, it was different because I was happy that she was successful and doing well in college.

Fast forward to the present day. She visits occasionally because it is just a three hour drive compared to much longer trips to other colleges. And I have learned that in every end there is a new beginning, even if that beginning isn’t just for yourself: The beginning is for my sister for the rest of her life and her career. I do think that we made the most out of the time we spent together and made memories that will last a lifetime.

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