I always have had a best friend only a room away from me. Being only two years apart in age, my sister, Anna, has been my playmate, “twin,” a personal chauffeur, and friend.

When I was younger, Anna and I had our own playdates every day. We would play with dolls and pretend to be our favorite Disney characters. Our playroom was covered with dress-up clothes, dollhouses, and other girly toys. We got along, but sometimes fought over who got to play what character or what game we would play. Once we outgrew playing, our arguments lessoned and we became closer as friends.

Being the middle child, I have become accustomed to not being the first trial run, and also not the one who gets her way. I remain uninvolved if there are fights with my sister and Jack, my brother, but I sometimes am the one who resolves their fights. It’s nice being the “middlest” in my family, but it will be hard taking over Anna’s responsibilities when she graduates next month.

When my sister leaves and goes to college at Ole Miss, all her duties of being the oldest will fall on me. When I’m 16, I will have to be the chauffeur to my younger brother. Anna is always the one who drives me to school and takes me to places when my parents can’t. This responsibility will now be placed on me, since my sister will be eight hours away. I’ll also help pick up Jack from all of his practices for baseball, football, basketball, and golf. This won’t be so bad, however, because it will give me more time to listen to my tunes in the car.  

I will miss having constant entertainment when I have nothing to do. Whenever I’m bored, I walk over to Anna’s room to see what she’s doing. Usually she isn’t busy or is avoiding homework, so we talk about what happened that day or laugh at memes on our phone. Sometimes we leave the house for a quick stop at Chick-fil-A , or drive around and listen to music.

Being the younger (but taller) sister, it is always nice having a mentor who gives me advice and is only a few steps away. Anna always helps me with any problems I might have with drama or academics. When I began ninth grade, Anna was the one giving me tips on how to survive my first year of high school. It’s also nice to  have another wardrobe whenever I get tired of my clothes.

I’ll still be able to talk to her with the amazing invention of social media. Although she may be many hours away, I’ll make sure to send her memes to remind her I’m still here.

It will feel weird having an empty room right next to me, but luckily I’ll be able to use her closet and room space for my stuff. Although she’s moving out of the house, I’m excited to be able to visit her at Ole Miss and to live as a college student for a night in her dorm room.