Friday 5 July 2013

On Sisters

(Yeah, way behind on EWTS blogs, but feck it sure)
So yesterday my little sister had a bit of a sappy moment on the bus and said I was an inspiration to her. Yeah, even though I have about 2% of my life sorted out and I’m an unemployed Arts graduate living at home. And a vegetarian. Like, why I would be an inspiration is beyond me.
When we got on the bus, we saw a girl that I was friends with in secondary school. I did my Leaving three years ago, and I know full well that I’m an entirely different person. And for the better. I still have massive self-confidence issues, but I am more confident now than I ever was at school. I have friends now who are actually my friends and not just people I sat beside in English class. I’ve grown up, in other words. But this girl, and actually quite a few people who I’ve run into seem the exact same. They look like they did when they were 18, which is also how they looked when they were 15. Now, they have undoubtedly changed in terms of who they are as people (I don’t think you can go three years in your early 20s without changing), but they seem the exact same. They like the same things, dress the same way, are dating the same person. 
But I’m glad my sister doesn’t want to do that (and I know you’re reading this Cianna, you’d better be absolutely lovely to me now). She doesn’t want to be the same person as she has been for the past few years in school. She’s been through the works as well, and is out the other side a much different, and better person. 
And she’s doing the same thing I did. We live near NUIM (by near, I mean it’s a 20 min walk and one bus to the college as opposed to two different busses, we live in a commuter town, what do you expect), and most people in our secondary school go there for college. When I was filling out the CAO, I didn’t even look at courses in NUIM, I was determined not to go there. I did not want to go somewhere where people would already know me, where I would have to be the same person I was during secondary school. So I went to UCD and didn’t know a single person. I made my first friend by sneezing in a queue during orientation week and she said ‘bless you’. 
And my sister’s the same. Her top two choices are in UCC, and she’ll be either going there or repeating her Leaving because she failed. She has accommodation sorted, and she’s ready to pack up and leave for 4 years come September. And I have never been happier that we’re both iPhone wankers. I can guarantee that I’ll never even get the chance to miss her face because she’ll be sending me pictures of herself on the bus, or eating (a habit of hers, one of her nicknames at home is the very hungry caterpillar) or making some sort of weird face. I’ve practically been ordered to download snapchat so I can be bombarded even more. 
A year or two ago, I would have worried about her moving away. I’m still going to worry - she’s my baby sister, how could I not? - but it won’t be as intense. I don’t know that I’d win any medals for worrying  about her anymore. 
With inspiration like me, and absolutely no intentions of becoming a dickhead vegetarian, she’ll be just fine.

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