For Sisters By Sisters » college

The Real Deal About College

Lauren T. — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:40:04 +0000

Sept. 22, 2010. My first day of college. I had no idea what to expect. People had been telling me that my classes would be huge and I would have lame teaching assistants trying to help me get through. I go to a school with well over 50,000 students, so I expected to feel like a very little fish in a very, very large pond. And I’ll be the first to admit that it is weird to see unfamiliar faces everywhere. In high school, you kind of know who everyone is and you see the same faces every day. Here, I see more new faces daily than familiar ones.

But I see at least one person I know every day, outside of class. Whether it’s walking from class to class, going to the gym, grabbing a quick lunch at the student union or heading down to the basement to do my laundry, there is always a face I recognize. (P.S. Doing your own laundry isn’t really all that bad.) As far as the whole class thing goes, my largest class is maybe 45 people. Granted, I’m not enrolled in math or science lecture this quarter. But the girls I know who are taking those classes go to recitation twice a week to review all the material with an associate professor. Needless to say, they are getting enough personal attention to do well in class.

I was also really nervous that I would have some crazy roommate. Either I got really lucky or we have an awesome housing department. My roommate, Andrea, and I get along so well. She puts up with my Taylor Swift obsession, and I’m more than happy to give her space when she has visitors. We both came here with friends from home and, thankfully, they all get along incredibly well, too. Speaking of friends, it is a lot easier to make new ones than you’d think. The floor I live on has a policy that requests that we leave our doors open so people can come in and say hello. My roommate and I try to always have our door open, unless we’re studying, and we are really close to the girls we live with. I guess my point is, be friendly! Don’t let the friend-making process terrify you. It’s really not that bad.

I’ve been on campus less time than it took for me to finish all my college applications. But it’s so worth it. All the time and effort and crazy essays and numerous rewrites will pay off for you. And no matter what happens, you will end up where you’re supposed to be. It might not happen right away, but there’s a reason for everything, and one day you will be so appreciative of this whole experience, so try to enjoy it!

Making friends and studying goes hand in hand at college

Q&A: Lauren and Tori

Lauren T. — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:33:26 +0000

Lauren T. and Tori S. have been “sisters” since they were babies. We met up with the two, who have recently flown the coop, from California to Ohio for college, to see what it’s like to have a best friend who is basically a sister.

Sisters Lauren T. and Tori S.

@TheSisterh00d: When did the two of you meet?

Tori: Lauren genuinely believed, for a long time, that we met when we were 18 months old when she walked over to my house, in her diaper, and asked if I could play.

(Giggles)

Lauren: We were 18 months old, but what really happened is that Tori’s dad sold my family our house. (Jokingly:) It’s kinda a forced relationship.

Tori: We’ve been friends ever since.

@TheSisterh00d: Did you go to school together your whole lives?

Lauren: Nope, only until high school. Tori went to private school.

Tori: And Lauren moved to a different school district.

@TheSisterh00d: Did that change your relationship?

Tori: We didn’t see each other very much, but we had a safety net, knowing the other was there if we needed her, when it came to things like boy drama and breakups.

@TheSisterh00d: Well, you’re still friends and now reunited in college. Was that planned?

Lauren: It was not intentional.

Tori: We say it was an act of God. (More giggles)

@TheSisterh00d: Do you guys live together on campus?

Lauren: No, we live a mile apart.

Tori: But we see each other every day.

Lauren: I didn’t want to live with Tori, because I didn’t want to begin hating her.

Tori: We’d rather be each other’s refuge when we need each other than get annoyed by one another.

@TheSisterh00d: Does that mean you’re starting separate, new groups of friends?

Tori: We’ve made separate friends, but we introduced them all to each other.

Lauren: We meet people in different places because we don’t have any of the same classes. I’m majoring in French, and Tori doesn’t have a major yet.

@TheSisterh00d: Do you guys take part in any of the same extracurricular activities?

Tori and Lauren (in unison): “Grey’s Anatomy”!

Lauren: We watch “Grey’s” on Thursdays in a girl’s room from my floor.

@TheSisterh00d: Do you guys watch “Gossip Girl”? Are you anything like Blair and Serena?

Lauren: I watch it; Tori doesn’t. We are nothing like them. They are always angry at each other. We don’t have secret societies on campus, though, so there’s no competition to pull us apart.

@TheSisterh00d: You both have sisters in your families. Would you say that the relationship you have with each other is like that of real sisters?

Lauren (to Tori): I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to.

Tori: You’d never want to!

@TheSisterh00d: So you’ll be friends forever?

Tori and Lauren (in unison): I’d find you… (A “Wedding Crashers” reference)

Tori: We finish each other’s sentences.

Lauren: This week, we were walking through campus with our new friends singing, “I like big butts” and switching off every couple of words. (Laughs) We are weird.

Lauren and Tori might be among the older “sisters” in The Sisterhood, but they sure do understand that girls have an intimate way of communicating when it comes to their best friends. Take advantage of the older sisters on The Sisterhood—comment on their posts with questions you have about things they’ve lived through and have answers to!

Toto, I Don’t Think We’re in High School Anymore

Tori S. — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:51:21 +0000

Sisters

I’ve been in college now for less time than I spent filling out applications, and I can already say it was time well spent. The stress of taking standardized tests, addressing countless envelopes, spending hours looking into colleges across the country and writing essays that portrayed the essence of who I am in about 300 words all got me to where I am today. Although I am glad that I don’t have to do it again, I am so thankful I did it then. The stress and hard work has paid off tenfold, and I’m only four weeks into classes.

So to all you high school seniors, or even the younger ones starting to test out the college waters, hang in there! It’s more than worth it. Take your college apps seriously, and give them the time they deserve. I know how much of a hassle it can be, but I am starting to see the benefits. You will soon, too. Trust me when I say that college is a magical experience. As the president of my school likes to say, it’s the last time in life when you can be “irresponsible responsibly.” It’s a time to meet different types of people and try things that you have never even considered before.

Before I get ahead of myself, though, let’s get back to high school for a minute. If I can give you only one piece of advice that you’ll take to heart, I hope it’s this: DO EVERYTHING! Seriously, go to all the dances, games, charity events, plays, parties and other miscellaneous events that you can work into your schedule. Especially those special senior events. If it sounds lame, make it fun! Spend time with and support your friends. Make new friends (it’s never too late). In short, live it up. Enjoy being young and relatively carefree; I mean, it’s not like you’re paying the mortgage. Life isn’t that tough yet. And, hey, at the end of all these things, you have college to look forward to. What more could you ask for?

Sisters going to college now!

Junior Year Approaching

Remy G. — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:54:00 +0000

So it is that famous back-to-school season. As I am in the process of finishing up my summer reading books, I get this feeling of stress again. Do I really need to go back and step into a world of work and early mornings? And, just as I bring up this topic, my friends remind me: “Ugh, junior year is going to be horrible!”

Studying in a computer lab

Every teen in high school has heard it before: Junior year is rough! With SATs, studying for all the big exams, pressure and thoughts about college all tackling you in one school year, it’s no wonder everyone is pretty anxious when junior year is approaching. Everyone has to go through it—and once they finish, they realize it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be. Yes, it was a lot of work, but once final exams are finished and summertime comes, it is the best feeling of accomplishment.

As a sophomore this past year, I often saw the juniors scurrying around in stress. Everyone needs a balance of schoolwork and down time. As the summer is coming to a close, I am getting a little nervous about what junior year is going to be like, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on this one. I am aware that there will be many challenges approaching me; however, I also see all my peers going through the excitement of getting accepted to colleges or moving into their dorms. Every high schooler deals with junior year and all the tests, and I can tell it does pay off. Seeing the excitement of my friends going off to college really makes me kind of interested to start junior year.

While there is pressure among all the students, such as competition over schools and test scores, you should just know that although you should strive to do the best you can during junior year, everyone is their own student. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses pertaining to academics. Everyone will find their way to a school that suits them best. Nowadays, there is such pressure about college. Tutors are swarming everywhere trying to prepare students. Everyone focuses on schools based on the Ivy League name. Just remember to focus on what you think is best for you.

To all the incoming juniors: Enjoy the winding down of the summer season, good luck in the fall and we will all get through this year together, just as every junior class does every year!

Back to school after summer!

College Is Calling!

Amy W. — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:27:45 +0000

It seems to be every parent’s dream to send their kids off to college, so they can get a great education pursuing what they love and find a successful, well-paying job and eventually settle down and provide them with grandchildren some day. In thinking about all those big goals, it’s easy to forget about the little stuff leading up to the great milestones in life. The graduations. The packing and unpacking. Getting rid of old treasures from your childhood room and most importantly, the good-byes. But as my older sister is going off to college next fall, I am going to try and focus on the little things first, and deal with the big goals when they are actually a little more in reach.

I still remember when my mom could not believe that my sister and I were starting elementary school, then middle school and then eventually high school. When events are so far away, you tend to put them in the back of your mind, knowing that they are going to occur, but always feeling like they are never going to actually happen. This is exactly how I had been feeling in the months leading up to my sister’s graduation. But when graduation day finally came, it was bittersweet. I was so happy for her knowing she will be going off to a great college with a world of new experiences, but also sad knowing I am losing someone who is one of the closest people to me in my life and one of the few who has known me my entire life.

At her graduation party, many people came up to me and said, “I bet you are excited to be an only child next year!” I would give a smile and laugh, and just kind of nod my head yes, but as more people started to say that to me, I started to wonder if I really was excited about that prospect.

Well, am I? I have been going over this question for quite some time in my head. Will all of the attention be to my advantage, or will my parents not know when enough is enough?! Will what used to be once-in-a-while quality bonding days now be every second of every day? Aaarrrggghhh! But there will also be some perks to this situation: not having to share a bathroom, getting my parents’ undivided attention when I want it and not having to pick up after my messy sister. But don’t get me wrong, none of these things overrides the sadness I will feel when I no longer see my sister every day.

I’m sitting on my couch writing this, only about one week into summer—T-shirt, shorts and all. We will both be home for the majority of the summer, taking advantage of all of the time we have together (well, most of the time). So when it is time to send her off in August, I am going to remind everyone to stop for a minute and think about the here and now, and to worry about the “down the road” a little more down the road.

My Girls

Tori S. — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:21:01 +0000

Photo taken by Tori S.

I tend to forget how important girlfriends are in life. I’m friends with mostly boys and spend a lot of my time with them. But when it comes down to it, I have a core group of girls who mean the world to me. They’re the ones who would be there for me at 3 in the morning if I needed something. They’re the ones who know me to the core.

Last night the seven of us girls went to Color Me Mine for a girls’ night. This is a place where you paint ceramic objects (from plates to picture frames to figurines) and they get fired and all that good stuff, and you pick them up about a week later. We decided that instead of just making things for ourselves, we would do a Secret Santa–ish thing and draw names out of a bowl and make something for one of our besties. I decided to make a mug for my friend McKenna since she will have her own apartment next year when she’s in L.A. for college. It was a special gift to be able to give her. The time we spent together was the best, most fun night I’ve had in a long time.

Lately, I have been overly stressed with school, moving and trying to choose a college, and spending a night with my best friends refreshed me. It was nice to just be with the people I love and be able to relax. We talked about things that were stressing us and laughed at silly things that only we would understand. It was perfect, and exactly what I needed. I really believe that you can get through anything with a solid group of friends by your side. A sisterhood is priceless.

So, girls, go out and spend some time with your best friends—you won’t regret it. It’s a good way to remember how blessed you truly are. And, hey, even if you aren’t all headed off to different places around the country for college next year, the time you have to spend with friends should still be treasured.

The Much-Talked-About College Process

Evelyn D. — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:16:55 +0000

As a senior in high school, I have been trying to find the right college for a year and a half. That’s almost 548 days of stress about college essays, interviews, campus visits, making the right impressions, SAT scores, applications, keeping grades up, doing as many extracurricular activities as possible, having a social life and somehow finding “me time.” After spending such a huge amount of time on this whole process, I have one month to decide where I would like to go next fall. Thirty days. It seems a little unfair that I spend 548 days applying to schools, and they only give me 30 days in return! For a girl like me, who is probably the worst decision-maker on the planet, this means trouble.

It takes me twenty minutes to pick which flavor of ice cream I want. I can eat all of it in one-fourth of that time! Including the cone! It takes me maybe an hour before I decide between buying two equally cute items at Forever 21. There are just so many factors to think about; I can never make a quick decision on the spot. What if I make the wrong decision and regret it later? What if I waste money on ice cream that I won’t end up liking? Yes, I taste the samples of every flavor first, but having a tiny minuscule taste of it is different than having the whole scoop. Just like having a tiny miniscule taste of a college campus is different than having the whole scoop. So how am I supposed to make the biggest decision of my life in only a month’s time? I just don’t think it’s possible.

It is a little ironic that one of my worst qualities is my decision-making ability, because the thing I hate the most is wasting time. That is why on a day that I have the option to sleep late, I do not sleep past 9 a.m. I make sure to maximize my time by being efficient. I figure that since you can never get those hours back, you can’t waste them. That is why we have to live every moment of our lives to the fullest. However, that is so much easier said than done. Sometimes all I ever want to do in my house is lounge around in my pajamas with my puppies and watch reruns of “House” or “Project Runway.” After all, that is so much easier than making the biggest decision of my life.

I’m scared, terrified actually, that I’ll regret my decision. I hate the feeling of regret, because there is nothing you can do to change it. You can’t remake that decision. Yes, I know I can always transfer if I don’t like the school I choose. However, it is never the same as making the decision for the first time. There is so much pressure and responsibility put on my shoulders in such a small amount of time, but at the same time I don’t want anyone but myself making the decision. It is up to me only, not my parents, not my friends, not the colleges. Me.

A Year Without Big Decisions

Christine V. — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:30:35 +0000

In the next few years, I will be deciding what college I want to go to. This is probably the biggest decision in my life so far, and I will only be 16 when I am making it! It’s great to have options and to be able to consider different choices, but sometimes I wish someone would just tell me, “Christine, you have to go to this school, and that’s it, period.” That way, if it’s the wrong decision, it’s not my fault.

There are so many things about this that make me nervous. What if I go away to school and I get really, really sick? I’m gonna miss my family, especially my little sister, and I will definitely miss my dog. I don’t know how to do laundry! What happens if I choose a major and hate it? What if I stay at home and then I’m miserable because everyone else goes away? There are many more things I could add to this list, and it feels like my brain will explode. So I don’t want to think about it right now.

This year, I want a year without any big decisions. I just want to be 14 going on 15, not 14 going on 20. I don’t want to hear about how I didn’t accept the research program in science that meant giving up my next three summers to be in a lab with a scientist…I don’t like science (thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting me blow it off). I make enough little decisions every day—that should add up to one big decision every week, and that should be enough.

Think about the pressure in my life and the life of a freshman in high school: Wake up at 5:45 to do my hair every day so I don’t look like a freak, be at the bus stop at 7 a.m. (gotta talk to Poppa and ask him to drive me, ’cause it’s too cold for this right now), keep up my grades, do all the after-school stuff, pick the right friends (the ones my parents approve of), go to dance classes and competitions, study, keep my room clean and more. I do love all of it, but there’s no time to think about the big stuff like college and careers, and even bigger stuff like child abuse, terrorism and global warming. Teenagers 30 years ago didn’t have to think about this stuff; why should we?

So if it’s OK, I promise to do everything I am supposed to do this year, and I will try to keep my room clean, and I won’t lose my iPod or my Uggs again. Let’s keep the decisions small for now. Sixteen is just around the corner.

Countdowns

Tori S. — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:36:23 +0000

Often in class I find myself counting down the minutes until the bell rings. On Mondays, I tell myself Friday will be here again soon. The other day my friend and I counted up the days of school left in our senior year. We were shocked to find that there are less than 65. This got me thinking…why am I so anxious for time to pass quickly?

This is my senior year of high school. I should be soaking up every second, not wishing them away. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way unsatisfied with the course my life is taking at the moment, and I’m a generally happy-go-lucky girl. So what in the world is up with this obsession I’ve formed with countdowns? Why am I pressuring the proclaimed “best time of my life” to go by any faster than it absolutely has to?

Honestly, I have no idea. Life is crazy enough already. On Friday, February 12, our boys’ basketball team had a game. The next day I had a college interview in the morning, followed by winter formal at night, and it was my best friend’s 18^th birthday, which put me in bed around 4:30 a.m. Sunday was Valentine’s Day, which I got to spend with my boyfriend. Monday we had a “day off” that didn’t involve much relaxing. After that came four days of school (filled with countdowns to lunch or the end of the day). But when school ended Friday, the week was far from over as I ran to another college interview and then a basketball playoff game.

I guess what I’m trying to get across is that my life is hectic right now, and this is making my senior year fly by. There is really no need for my silly little countdowns.

Hence, I have come up with a resolution: to truly live life to the fullest, as cliché as that may sound. Life is short and tomorrow is never a guarantee, so it’s crucial to view the time we do get as a gift/blessing and make the most of every moment. Those classes that I count down the minutes to get through could really teach me some important things if I just let them. From now on, I’m going to live in the present and appreciate it. After all, you only live a moment once, and once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.

Posted by Tori S., age 18, California