When a senior leaves for college, it can greatly affect many people in that person’s life, including their siblings. This changes family dynamics, from daily routines to the way they communicate. Although preparing for this switch may be very difficult for siblings, there are ways to adjust and make it through this tough time.
With the season of the current seniors leaving for college approaching, it’s time to start preparing for change. Many emotions and questions may arise, and it is very common to feel this way.
Sophomore Autumn Cervantes has a senior sister leaving this year for the first time. She shares her experience and emotions during this time.
“When I picture my sister leaving for college, it’s a bittersweet moment. I feel proud knowing that she is off to start something new and exciting and pursue her lifelong goals. However, I can’t help but also feel sad and a little empty knowing she won’t be around every day,” Cervantes said.
Conflicting emotions are standard and make sense in the situation. There are a lot of things you can worry about, and this is completely normal. Most people feel a sense of loss or confusion, even though it is shown in different ways.
“I think I am most nervous about when she leaves, how different everything will feel at home without her there every day. I worry about our relationship and drifting apart from each other, knowing we won’t be sharing the same routines anymore. I’m also nervous just about the little things, such as just talking after school, or just being able to turn to her for advice,” Cervantes said.
However, there are also ways to cope. Junior Isabella Monreal went through this transition a couple of years ago. She shared her experience with this and how her life has changed.
“My sister and I were the kind of siblings who always hung out with each other, even on our busiest days. There have been numerous occasions when I have the instinct to ask her to hang out when she’s obviously not here. Like, I didn’t realize how much she was just part of my everyday routine until she wasn’t there anymore,” Monreal said.
The bond between siblings is often very strong, especially when they are so similar in age. The switch in a routine can be tough, but communication, keeping busy, and allowing yourself to feel those hard emotions for the time being can be helpful.
“Allow yourself to feel emotions rather than hiding them, because hiding them only causes them to grow inside of you. I think spending a lot of time with my family really helped me too, because my parents are going through the same thing as I am,” Monreal said.
Sharing feelings with others and getting to experience validation for those feelings can be very beneficial.
Additionally, in most cases, a sibling leaving won’t be as horrible as expected. It’s easy to get stressed out and freak out about the future, because change can be really scary. Nevertheless, it is an unavoidable occurrence that is overcomeable.
“I was mostly worried we’d drift apart, but that didn’t really happen because we still talk a lot, just in a different way. I was very distraught leading up to her move, and I hated any mention of it because I didn’t want to accept it. But once it really happened, yes, I was sad for a while, but I learned to live with it and grow more independent even as a person,” Monreal said.
