For most people, they move out of their home before their parents do. For senior Robin Vogel, this is not the case. Since the summer, she has been living alone with her older brother, Corin Vogel, as her guardian.

“We went through so many options,” Robin said. “If [Corin] had gone to college, I would have either stayed at someone’s house, moved to Indiana with my parents, or we would have found someone to live with me like Corin is. But I think this was the best option because I get to stay, but I have a comfortable house to come home to.”

Vogel’s parents moved to Indiana in order to pursue job opportunities that they could not find in Harrisonburg, leaving Corin as the only one in charge of the house. For Robin, this has altered the way her whole day flows as well as how often she sees her brother.

“My alarm goes off at 6:30 and I get ready for school as quietly and with as little light as possible so as not to wake the monster. I go to school and come home and he doesn’t usually come home until shortly after 5 and when he does, he sits there for a while until finally we make dinner. We don’t really interact all that much except for dinner if we have it together because sometimes he’ll immediately go off with his girlfriend for dinner,” Robin said.

Aside from this, her parents leaving has also changed small things that happen around the house. According to Robin, activities like cleaning, eating, and simple conversations have been altered by her parents departure.

“Neither of us have much experience or motivation with cooking, so I’ve definitely eaten a lot less since my parents left. Also, cleaning is horrible. We are living in a 5 person home with two people, neither of whom have ever had to clean by their own motivation,” Robin said. “I have definitely learned that I can’t just run and share an exciting thing with the first person I see because that’s now Corin, and he doesn’t care. Honestly I think I like to go out more because the house is lonely, but I’m not sure if that’s to do with me growing up or this situation.”

However, despite the sudden changes, she still has things that she enjoys about the whole situation.

“I like being able to do things when I want. Just simple things that my parents wouldn’t object to, but I just never really did because they were there, like having a bowl of ice cream whenever I want,” Vogel said. “I also think Corin and I have learned to handle each other better because when we fight, and we do a lot, we are forced to fix it without the buffer of parents.”

Even though there may be many downsides, Robin doesn’t find herself feeling too down about it. She enjoys the small freedoms she gets despite missing her parents and all the other small things she gets to experience with this different way of living.

“It’s really not so bad,” Vogel said.