One of the consequences of being stuck at home for quarantine has been extended "quality" time with my family. This stood out especially since I had not been able to even visit them in the first couple months of 2020. It was a harsh change in reality being stuck back home after nearly an entire year in college away from them. There were of course ups and downs as all of us adjusted to me being back and I adjusted to my newfound lack of autonomy. But one good thing to come from it all is my relationship with my sister.

Growing up, Lainey and I had never had the best relationship. Even though we were close in age, we had clashing personalities and conflicts that led to us not really connecting. That began to change my senior year of High School as we both made an effort to actually hang out more considering my looming move out date. While we continued to differ in personality, we found that our personal traits actually complemented one another as opposed to clashing. Once I moved to Athens that relationship only continued to grow as distance led to us not facing the same obstacles we would when we were both back home. Over facetime and calls we helped each other through whatever life threw at us-whether that be boys, dances, or drama. We navigated through the new territories of college and highschool with each other on speed dial.

Once Covid-19 hit and I moved back to Tifton full time we faced many of our old disputes but this time had the cushion of a strong relationship to help us through them. Fights that normally would have lasted days were over in hours with only a little begrudgement remaining in the air. Paragraphs-long text messages turned into Lainey coming to my room to sit on my couch uninvited and talk out whatever problems she had. Facetimes turned into coffee runs where we take the long way home and listen to music in silence.

It's not easy being a big sister, especially to someone as moody and argumentative as Lainey. But it sure is fun at times, and I know without a doubt it would be a lot harder to get through things such as quarantine or family events without her by my side to laugh and make fun of other people with.