With a new school year starting, many students are getting used to daily life with an important part of their family missing the majority of the time, or preparing for next year when their sibling, who is a senior, takes off.

How do younger siblings feel? From growing up and spending a lot of time with your siblings, to one day rarely seeing them anymore, is a big change and can be very tough to manage.

Charlotte Messacar ’25 is the youngest of four children, she has two siblings in college, her sister is a junior at Michigan State and her brother is a senior at Miami University.

“When both my siblings leave every fall my life is a lot more peaceful and the house is definitely more quiet, although my parents are more strict on me and make me do more chores, but when they come home, I realize the house is a lot more different without them than I thought.” Messacar said.

Charlotte also said her family finds it hard to find time to go visit, and her siblings usually come home instead of her family ever going to visit them.

“I also don’t think I have ever gone to visit either of them at their colleges and only see them when they come home for important family events.” Messacar said.

Her other sibling is a senior this year at South and she says she is closest with him considering they are closest in age. She is mostly concerned with when he leaves considering how much time they spend together and how she is so used to having him around all the time.

“When Patrick leaves that will make me the only child home and I think this will affect me the most, since Patrick is my best friend and he is always around,” Messacar said.

Lyla Hampton ’26 is a middle child, with one younger sister in middle school and one older sister, Cate Hampton ’24 who is a senior this year at South and will be leaving for college next fall. Since the school year just started, Lyla said she hasn’t really thought about how Cate won’t be home anymore coming next fall.

“I guess I haven’t thought about it that much but I am kind of sad that Cate is leaving so soon since I’m so used to her always being home and on the golf team with me, and now she won’t be around anymore.” Hampton said.