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Sister in High School

"I'm already calculating how much I'll actually see my sister next year."

Listen to this Commentary!

By Emily Koehl

I'm Emily Koehl, a junior at Grady High School with a commentary from Youth Radio.

I'm three years older than my sister, and next year we'll be in the same high school. I can't say that I am terribly excited about the idea, but I don't hate it.

For me, moving from middle school to high school was an amazing experience. I loved it, I wasn't scared at all. Elissa on the other hand is nervous. Oh, who am I kidding? She's terrified. And the funny thing about it all is that I have never, ever tried to scare her with the "horror" stories of high school life. Probably because I loved freshman year. Being the "baby" of the school was fun, and my high school did a great job of introducing me to older students.

Elissa is still scared despite the stories of my great freshman year. I've tried to ease some of her troubles, telling her that most of her friends will be there, and that freshman hazing like "dragging," where students get dragged down a grassy hill by upperclassmen, is almost gone. But in a way I want her to be a little nervous. It's nice having that kind of power over your little sister.

I'm already calculating how much I'll actually see my sister next year. I know, I know, my school is tiny, but I can still go days without seeing this one person, can't I? Then I wonder about transportation. I'll be driving both of us to school. She likes to be early and I just can't help but be late. (I can already hear the morning fights.)

All in all I guess I am excited that my little sister is going to be in high school at the same time as me. I get to "show her the ropes" and tell her about all the good classes and teachers, while at the same time teasing her for being a lowly freshmen. I guess in a way I lucked out because I get the best of both worlds.

I'm Emily Koehl.

HOST BACK ANNOUNCE: Youth Radio Atlanta is produced in cooperation with Grady High School, WABE, and Youth Radio in Berkeley, California with funding from Southern Polytechnic State University.