The same house that was once filled with lively laughter, frantic footsteps, and pointless persiflage now rings with silence, echoing the stillness of an empty house. It is the sound of the bird leaving the nest, going off to college.

When people leave for college, the whole family dynamic shifts, compensating for their lost presence.

“[I] can feel his presence missing and it’s definitely different at family dinners to have one less person there talking about their day,” senior Emma Beisner said about her brother PHS graduate Alex Beisner leaving for college.

Beisner said adjusting to having one less person in the house is certainly a difficult challenge.

Sophomore Tyler Ellis, whose brother Ryan Ellis graduated last year, feels similarly.

“It’s weird not having him in his room,” Ellis said. “I pass by it everyday and the bed is always made. It’s sort of creepy.”

Ellis said he misses having his brother around because the house seems duller.

“It sucks not having him at the dinner table,” Ellis said. “He always started funny conversations. Now we just sit there. Eating our food. Depressing.”

Having siblings leave for college does have its perks, such as extra bathroom time and more driving privileges. It also brings siblings closer together.

“I think we’ve gotten closer,” Ellis said. “I talk to him about his experiences every Sunday and I tell him mine.”

Beisner agrees that she and her brother have grown closer.

“I really missed my brother at first, and I still do, but we have gotten a lot closer recently as I think he gets homesick,” she said. “He now confides in me about his life and friends there, and school if he needs advice which he has never done before.”

Some people, such as junior Griffith Tai, have had so many siblings leave for college that they are now used to it.

“I find myself accustomed to this just from habit, since I have had three siblings go to college,” he said.

At the end of the day, when siblings leave for college you should be happy for them, Beisner said.

“When we Skype and he tells me how much fun he’s having, I can see how happy he is and that makes me happier than I have ever been when he’s home,” Beisner said. “So I’m glad he is there because he loves it and I want him to be happy.”