This fall, students from families all around the country had to say goodbye as they departed for their college careers. This can create quite the change for some, as they have been part of their lives for almost eighteen years. Seeing them only a couple of times during the school year, Christmas break means that they finally come home for the holidays.

Sydney Shields, the older sibling of Kennedy Shields, is a freshman at the University of San Diego, California after graduating from Faith Lutheran in the spring of 2013. “I miss her in general and I’m just kind of sad without her here,” said Kennedy Shields.

Since it’s Sydney’s first year in college, Kennedy and the rest of her family have gotten to see here almost once a month since she left. Many things change when someone you’ve lived with your entire life suddenly leaves to start a new life outside of the house.

“[The biggest change was that] without her in the house, now my little sister thinks that she can take charge,” said Shields with a smile on her face, “and since she left, she’s already moved into her side of the bathroom.”

This winter, Kennedy plans to spend some quality time with her sister at the gym, and to just relax around the house while enjoying her company.

Another former student at Faith who recently headed off to college, Kristen Solan, will also soon head back for the holiday season. Only four hours out of Vegas, her sister, Brooke Solan, gets to see Kristen more often than most people with siblings in college. Kristen Solan has attended Azusa Pacific University for two years and is in her sophomore year of college.

“I saw her pretty often, especially during her Freshman year since she had a rough adjustment, so she came back to visit a lot,” said Solan, “but now we basically only see her at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and sometimes on long weekends.”

Not only are sibling’s a big part of our life in the present, but even in the past they had quite the affect on us. Whether a family has large family reunions every year, stays in the same place, or travels all over the map, almost everyone has the one Christmas they won’t ever forget.“[My favorite Christmas was] two Christmas breaks ago, when we hung out with my Grandpa a lot, cause he passed away the year after,” said Brooke Solan, “but we had all my family from Chicago and California in town which made it the best.”

Many siblings rely on each other for a whole multitude of different things, and once that cushion has been removed, many things can drastically change. “I miss listening to music with her in the car cause we used to drive together but without her I drive alone,” said Solan, “We loved to go to concerts together, which my favorite was definitely Fall Out Boy.”

Without Kristen around the house, many things have changed throughout the past couple years, but also as the years go by, it becomes more accustom to the family, and those around them that she’s starting a new life in college.

Emily Grant, graduating with the class of 2013, went off to Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. With her out of the house, it just leaves the twins, Dominic and Zach Grant, at home with her parents awaiting her arrival.

“We’ve never spent Christmas without each other so it would be weird without her,” said Dominic Grant. Emily Grant usually only comes home on the larger breaks throughout the year, and is still becoming used to life outside the house and out of Las Vegas. With her outside the house, “I have to do a lot more chores around the house, and clean more,” said Zach Grant.

Every household reacts differently with a loved one heading off to college for the first time, but one thing will always hold true, with the coming for Christmas, means the reunion of loved ones and holiday cheer.