Next year, my sister, Alanna Hyatt ‘22, will be going off to college. In October, she got into her top choice, Christendom College, in Front Royal, Virginia. Over the long weekend for Columbus Day, we went to visit the college. Alanna had already spent a week on campus for a summer program, but it was my first time seeing it as well as my parents. The campus overlooked the mountains and Shenandoah Valley, so the scenery was beautiful. I think my two favorite places were the library and a little area outside it that led right to the Shenandoah Valley. 

When you first walked into the library, there was a little lobby with fountains, a dome ceiling, and paintings on the walls and ceiling. The library itself reminded me of the library in Harry Potter, which was great because I love Harry Potter. It was so quiet and there were so many tall shelves of books. Just outside the library, there was a small area where the founders of the school were buried. It overlooked the Shenandoah Valley, and (this is my favorite part), there was an old-fashioned swing attached to a really big tree! It looked a lot like the swing from the Winnie the Pooh movies, so that made it even better. Overall, the whole college was really pretty, and the people there were so nice and welcoming to us. 

My sister and I have always had a really good relationship with each other, but now that we’ve gotten older, I think it’s grown stronger. I think this is because we spent a lot of time together when we were younger — I mean, A LOT of time together. My mom homeschooled me and my siblings when we were little, so we basically did everything together. We even did a dance together during my first year of ballet. We have shared a room for as long as I can remember, so we always see each other. 

It can be annoying sometimes when I’m trying to sleep and she rolls over and shakes the bunk bed, but other times it’s helpful to share a room with her. For example, if I need help with homework, she’s usually there so I can ask her for help. Also, if I need advice on anything (like actually ANYTHING), she’s always there with a big hug and a smile. I’m really happy that I can say this about her, and I mean it because I feel like most girls nowadays don’t have as good a relationship with their sister as I have with mine. 

I’m really going to miss her when she goes off to college next year, but I’ll be happy for her as well. When we were visiting Christendom, I had a funny feeling that this is where she would end up going to college. It just felt right. I know she’ll be happy there, and that’s why I’m happy, but once she leaves it’ll definitely be hard to get used to. We have a lot of weird funny inside jokes that we do all the time to annoy my brother, we listen to old music in the car when she drives me home from school, we both love coffee, we can talk about girl stuff together — just little things like that that make our relationship special. 

I think the thing I’ll miss most about her though is the time that we have together, just the two of us. When we go to Cape Cod in the summer, we love taking walks together on the beach. At the end of the beach, there’s a long rock jetty, and there’s this one perfectly flat rock that we always sit on and watch the waves. Sometimes, we’ll just sit on my bed and talk about life or our days at school. She loves baking and always insists on making my birthday cake (and sometimes even her own, but this year I didn’t let her). She’s just all-around an amazing sister and person. I love you, and I’ll miss you, Alanna!

Keira Hyatt ’26, Co-Middle School Editor

26khyatt@montroseschool.org