Students continue to struggle with adjusting to siblings being away at college

CAPTION: Junior Alex Barth looks forward to seeing her sister Mady Barth when she comes home from the University of Oregon.

By Emily Prussel,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

They hopped in the car, Taylor Swift blasting on the stereo as they drove through Davis on another one of their night time car rides. Junior Alex Barth recalls the fun memories her and her sister Mady Barth made before her sister left for college. 

“Our night time car rides began when she would drive me home from swim practice, but it soon turned into our favorite thing to do,” Barth said.

Barth has a lot of fun hanging out with her sister who she considers to be her best friend. The pair got a lot closer during quarantine since they were stuck inside due to the stay at home orders. However, now her sister is away for college at the University of Oregon. “It has been sad not to have her around all the time so I cannot wait for her to come home because my parents are driving me bonkers,” Barth said.

 Sophomore Macey Foncannon has adjusted very well to her sister Cana Foncannon leaving to attend Boise State University. Foncannon definitely feels more lonely since her sister left, however, since her family is mainly working from home, she has her parents with her the majority of the time. 

“My sister and I would mainly watch shows together, usually “Criminal Minds,” we would do puzzles and make stupid videos,” Foncannon said. Although she can do those activities by herself, it is not the same without her sister and can’t wait for her sister to come back so they can do those activities together. Although she and her sister are not physically together, they FaceTime a lot and are able to communicate often.

Ayden Morgan’s sister, Kaylee Morgan, left for UC Berkeley in August. “The hardest part would be since the only sibling I have is my sister, I have no one else to talk to my age in the house,” Morgan said. 

Senior Emma Hudson found it weird not having her brother Tyler Hudson around to hangout with, as they have always been pretty close with each other. The most difficult thing for Hudson was getting used to being alone for most of the day while her mom was at work. 

“Before he left for college my brother and I would usually spend time with each other by going out to get food or watching movies at home,” Hudson said. 

Now that her brother is gone she has adapted by hanging out with her friends more often. Hudson and her friends drive down to get Cenario’s pizza for their horror movie they plan on watching that night, something her and her brother would do quite often when he was home. 

To cope with a sibling who leaves, Susan Grant, a family therapist in Davis, recommends to the sibling staying home to write down the strengths of their sibling relationship and what they love about each other. 

Second, she recommends having a “closure” event, this being something either the family does together or the siblings, acknowledging the person going off to college.

“Have the sibling going away gives the sibling staying at home a transition object. Something the sibling at home can gain comfort from. Examples of this would be a book, clothes, playlists or a special gift,” Grant said.