I’m a sophomore, my sister Rachel is a senior, and my other sister Jennifer is a freshman at CSU Northridge

I think in some cases teachers might have a perception of what I’m like before I join their class because of my sisters having had the class before me. We haven’t shared many teachers, but the ones we have definitely think I’m like my older sister Jennifer who’s really into art. They definitely think that I’m like her, and they’re actually right, I guess, as I am in the CCA Honors family and enjoy making art.

As far as making friends, I did have Jennifer and her friends freshman year, but I obviously have my own as well.

Kind of annoyingly, my sister Jennifer would sometimes follow me around on campus last year, but I feel like this year, rather than being the annoyed person, I bother my other older sister Rachel for fun. As for privacy, or feeling bothered, I don’t really feel like I’m losing out on anything. My sisters and I were/are all in different families, so I don’t really think that there is much of an overlap in social lives, and very little in academic lives.

Well, I didn’t go to school with them for like four years, and honestly, it didn’t really phase me. It’s not like we hang out at school together every day; it’s mostly limited social interactions.

In all honestly, I do think that I’ve come into Irvington with a better idea of how the school works and how to navigate it than those without older siblings who attended the school. This has probably helped me figure out all of our school’s unique offerings like CCA/the whole family system in general, and ROP, and figure out what works for me. I’ve been able to get a really good idea of what my class pathway looks like in general, and plan out some of my classes for the next few years, because I learned from my sister’s failures. I have also learned what prerequisites are required to take certain classes. So I’ve really just kind of picked up what I should be doing.

We all have different ways of studying, so I didn’t really get much help on that,but they definitely look at my schedule at the beginning of the school year and tell me if any of the classes are especially difficult.

I don’t really think I depend on them though. Honestly, I wish I could explain more, but it’s kind of like having two children follow you around and know where you live your freshman year.