Last Summer Together
May 1, 2024
Writer: Eve Collon
Editor: Jules Alfieri
From my first steps to my first boyfriend, Chloe has been under the same roof as me to experience every day by my side. Whether it is to cheer me on, to laugh at me, or to be the first to tell me when I’m making a bad decision, she has always been there. Whatever Chloe did, I followed. If she was getting a new stuffed animal, I was getting a new stuffed animal. If she was taking AP Spanish, I was taking AP Spanish. Whether it was just the pattern of being siblings or my admiration for her, she was always my blueprint - except for now.
I won’t be following in her footsteps for this portion of life, but luckily, I know it won’t have any bearing on our friendship. While Chloe explores the economic world, I will be pursuing my nursing degree. From this point forward our lives will look drastically different, but every moment spent together is something that can’t be bought, it is a gift that we share.
Having an older sister, especially one like Chloe, builds character. Despite the physical fights we’ve gotten in, or the screaming matches that sparked from superficial issues, we will always have each other as a backbone. Accepting the fact that our lives are splitting from one road into two is intimidating, but I am positive that we will be able to continue living freely as a pair.
Instead of setting up lemonade stands, or spending the day on the trampoline this summer as we once did, Chloe will be finding her footing in a new city, with new friends. Rest assured, I will hold down the fort of our family home which will always be filled with our childhood artwork and the memories that we have humorously made in the past years. Our home will forever serve as a shelter that will welcome Chloe home with open arms whenever she wants to wander back.
Growing up with Chloe has been nothing short of entertaining. I’ll never forget sneaking around our neighborhood with shared hidden missions, or running around in tutus until the sun went down. In this new chapter, we might continue sneaking around and staying out until the sun comes up, only in different neighborhoods. However, the memories that we’ve spent the past two decades forming are what will bind us despite the distance. Our sisterhood has been fueled by our similarities but mainly our differences. Chloe has taught me so many valuable lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life, specifically her brutal honesty and her ability to say it how it is. We complement each other well and always will. We’ve implicitly helped each other grow into the strong individuals that we are today, and we will continue to influence each other, no matter the location.
I underestimated the strong emotions that would surround our last summer together. Within my past weeks of attempting to accept the realities of growing up, our memories of dressing as twins, playing with Barbies, and putting on concerts for our parents have been flashing through my mind. I took our simple lifestyle for granted, and would do anything to relive ten minutes of our luscious childhood. Our shared childhood will always cohere us, but the ease of our sisterhood that we have inherently experienced thus far will soon experience the stress of distance. Chloe is turning the page, and although I’m still stuck on the chapter that she has just concluded, I feel confident that she will always be within reach, paving an inspiring path for me to commend.
