My little sister and I have gone to school together for as long as I can remember. We went to the same elementary school, then attended a K-12 school for middle school and high school. I went off to Alma in 2013, and she stayed behind, but last year she joined me as a Scot. As I enter my last year of undergrad, I've found myself reflecting on the best parts of having her around during my education experience.
1. Class Buddy
My sister and I had lots of classes together in high school. We've only had one class together at Alma so far and that was FRN 111 (the picture above is us at French Table), but having your sister in class with you is the best. If you are sick and can't make it to class on a day an assignment is due, she can take your assignment in for you. If you missed something during a lecture, she has notes to help you get back on track. It's a blessing.
2. Easy Access Homework Helper
Even when we don't have classes together, my sister and I have always helped each other out with homework assignments. I'll help her run lines and she'll look over my poster designs. Luckily, we also have complimentary skills. I can't do math to save my life, but I love writing; she is a math whiz, but gets frustrated while writing. We've always been there for each other when it comes to stressing over our weaker subjects.
3. Sharing Clothes
This is one of the best things about having my sister with me at Alma. She's got some totally wicked fashion sense and is always there to help me pick out an outfit. Plus, having her on campus is like having a wardrobe and a half. We share tons of clothes and if I can't find a shirt, chances are it's in her closet.
4. Unlimited Venting
When I have a bad day, I can always count on my sister to listen to me complain for hours on end. If I get over something and then have another thought about it that gets me going again, she lets me vent it all out.
5. A Pretty Reliable Pal for Adventures
Whether it's just running to Joe's for chicken nuggets, going to Meijer to look for room decorations (like a weird frog doorstep, for example), or driving on a mini-roadtrip to Great Lakes Crossing, it's nice to have someone there who will want to tag along with me. She'll complain about having to leave her room, ask how long we'll be off campus and bug me to get back by a certain time, but she usually goes with me so I don't have to go it alone.
6. Carpooling Home
We live two and a half hours from Alma, which is not that bad of a jaunt, but it goes much faster when you have someone in the car with you. We don't do anything super important (we will usually sing along with musical theater soundtracks, catch up on our Alma lives, and ultimately she sleeps a lot), but having her there makes the drive seem less tedious.
7. Pet Pictures
When I'm missing our pets who stay behind at home, my sister is always there to cheer me up with cute pictures of our family's fur babies. She has a massive stockpile of our cats and dogs looking like giant nerds, and they're guaranteed to make me laugh.
8. An Understanding Ear
My sister understands all our family inside jokes, she gets how weird our parents are, and she understands like no one else how we were raised. She just gets me and usually can help me come up with a reason for why something is bugging me, then she helps me come up with a game plan to help deal with it.
9. Perfect Pick Me Up
My sister knows when I'm having a bad day. She knows when I need someone to send me silly Tumblr posts or Snapchats to cheer me up. She knows when I need to talk, and she knows when to let me hide out in my bed by myself.
10. Honest Input
My sister is always there to serve some cold hard truth. Do these jeans make my hips look big? Do you think I was overreacting about this? Should I dye my hair purple? She's there to field all my silly questions and tell me the truth, even if it's not exactly what I want to hear.
11. I Love Having Her Around
Even if we don’t necessarily always get along, I love having my sister around. She's one of my favorite people, and having her with me at school makes my life so much easier. She's always there for me, and having someone who pretty much has to put up with my shenanigans is fantastic.
