I’m going into my junior year of college. Looking back, going to school in Washington, DC, was a catalyst to some of the most expedited and significant growth over the past two years. While I don’t resemble the 18-year-old girl I was, I feel far more like my authentic self than I did. I’m excited to see how my sister will succeed and continue to grow.

My family spent the last few days accompanying my younger sister while she moved into college and went through various orientation activities. Though our schools are very different (she goes to a large, newer school in the south, and I go to an older, smaller school in the city), experiencing this with her brought back some very distinct memories and introduced some new observations. Here are some thoughts I didn’t expect to have as I helped her transition:

1. "My baby?"

I used to call my sister “baby booboo” and she used to put her feet in the popcorn when we watched movies. I’m sure you have similar quirky memories of growing up with a younger sibling. I remember translating this one's baby talk into articulate statements and questions for adults to understand until she started insisting on speaking for herself. This same girl -- young woman, rather -- is now filling out paperwork for the registrar, managing her own finances and advocating for her needs to all these administrators at college. The same girl my older sister and I used to bathe with will now be using a communal shower in a co-ed hall. I never noticed the drastic transition when I became a college freshman, but the capacity and mental strength required to leave home with as much poise as she did shows such substantial maturation.

2. "She’s kind of a thug…"

Speaking of poise…no, I don’t actually mean my sister engages in thug activities. It’s just that she maintained a level of calm throughout the entire move-in process that baffled me. Every time I expected her to show some sign of apprehension or anxiety, she maintained the same thoughtful countenance. While I am sure she experienced the level of nervousness required for her to be considered human, she didn’t express it through tears or clinging to us. She just continued to prepare and pocket her uncertainties until she had a chance to pose her questions to the right people. Even at the very end, as we said our goodbyes and I felt my own heart shift in the direction of tearful nostalgia, she remained very cool.

3. "... And now commencing psychoanalysis of roommate based purely on small talk and body language."

I think the authorities on dropping off an 18-year-old at college would agree that assessing the new roommate's psychological state and asking questions about personal hygiene is inappropriate introductory conversation. However, as an older sibling, I’m required to feel out my sister’s roommate for traits that may cause conflict in the future. I was turning her decorating skills, her family conversation and her wardrobe over in my mind, sifting for possible indicators of personality and character, when my older sister finally breached a conversation. As it turns out, I enjoyed the verbal exchange far more than the assumptions I was making (you know what they say about assuming). She and my younger sister seemed to hit it off and we realized they had quite a bit in common. While I’ll be keeping an ear to the ground, roommate chemistry became one less thing to worry about.

4. My mom’s kind of a thug…

Mothers are stereotyped as becoming blubbering messes when their kids leave home. I’ve always known my mom to have a pretty good handle on her composure. She's not stoic, just very balanced. When she and my aunt drove away from my dorm two years ago after we exchanged goodbyes, I noticed her eyes were oddly clear. Zero percent chance of rain, if you know what I mean. But I still maintained the assumption that she would experience and express some “empty nest” emotions at some point after our parting. I’m not so sure now, especially after seeing how she processed my younger sister leaving. We are well over 24 hours removed from our departure from the university and she is her normal self, to say the least. This morning, I fished for some hidden emotion by dropping a wistful “Wow she’s gone” on my way past her bed. Beyond agreeing that my sister is, in fact, absent from home, she didn’t quite satisfy my emotional expectation, which is cool.

I’m so excited to hear about my sister’s freshman experiences and all the turn-ups that are not on the summer program itinerary. Even though she’s away, her transition is still causing me to reminisce on both the hot-mess activities and the edifying experiences that shaped me when I went to college. Comparatively, my sister is already ahead of the game.