Family Weekend is the worst. The parking garages seem to get fuller faster; traffic around campus slows to a crawl. Parents and children line the sidewalks, weighed down by the heat and their bookstore souvenirs. It’s a miserable time for everyone.
But I might just be bitter because I’m from Tucson, so it’s Family Weekend every weekend. It’s been that way for my parents for years. They gave birth to three Wildcats. It’s as adorable as it sounds now that it doesn’t suck.
Growing up as the middle child comes with all the cliches. You never get as much attention as the oldest or the youngest child. You devote a lot of energy to trying to distinguish yourself from your siblings. Through every year of grade school, I was, inevitably, “Carrie’s little sister.” And, had I been a less selfish child, I would have noticed more often that my younger sister, Marianne, was always referred to as “Kristina’s little sister.” So when it came time to submit college applications, it would have made sense for the three of us to submit applications to colleges all over the country, to places where we didn’t have to be someone’s little sister.
But somehow, every Bui sister ended up at the UA. Funnily enough, my older sister majored in journalism a few years before I did and only graduated a few years before I enrolled, so even in college, I still encounter, “Are you Carrie’s little sister?” And, in just the last couple of months she’s been on campus, Marianne probably still gets double takes from people who have met me and notice how much we resemble each other.
Still, the three of us rarely see each other now. Despite sharing a house with my older sister and going to the same school as the younger one, our schedules are so busy that we only see each other about once a week. Maybe it’s the effect of feeling less like competitive sisters and more like busy almost grown-ups, but sharing a Wildcat heritage doesn’t seem so terrible.
If my older sister had gone away for college, I think I would have missed her guidance. On the other hand, if my younger sister hadn’t decided to follow in our footsteps at the UA, I would have been sorry to miss out on watching her grow into who she is now. And undeniably, despite being independent to the point of stand-offish, I need my sisters around to keep me sane.
The saying goes that college is the best years of your life. They’re also the most demanding, the most trying, the most disappointing and the most rewarding. Why wouldn’t you want the people who witnessed you at your best and your worst to share that experience with you? My sisters and I are a Wildcat trio, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Keep that little lesson in mind when you’re scampering about the campus with your family. Take this opportunity to enjoy the experience together. We can’t all be fortunate enough to have the support of a family nearby.
— Kristina Bui is the copy chief. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
