Honey Boo Boo Recalls Late Sister Anna Jokingly Saying She'd 'Haunt' Her If She Didn't Go to Nursing School (Exclusive)

Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell died in December 2023 at age 29 — but she left sister Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson with a big warning beforehand

There is one thing Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell once said that's stuck with Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson ever since.

Ahead of the midseason return of Mama June: Family Crisis on Friday, June 14, Alana shared a bold declaration her late sister made before her death in December 2023 at age 29.

"I consistently remind myself when Anna told me, she was like, 'If I pass and you're not in nursing school, I will haunt you,'" the reality star, 18, tells PEOPLE exclusively in a joint interview with Mama June Shannon, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird and Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon.

Related: Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson 'Ready' for College but 'Not Sure' What Will Come of Relationship with Dralin

Fortunately, Alana has continued to follow through with Anna's hopes for her. The Toddlers & Tiaras alum recently completed her first year at Regis University in Colorado.

"It went good. I do tell a lot of people that my second semester went a lot better than my first semester," she explains. "I think my first semester, it was just everything with Anna and also trying to adjust to college and then, I also moved out of state. So, it was just a whole bunch that was going on in my first semester, but I got through it and my second semester it was a lot more smooth sailing."

Agreeing with Alana having endured "a lot" during her first year in college, June, 44, says: "Her and [her boyfriend] Dralin [Carswell] moved out there and Dralin lost his father also, so they were having to come back for his father then they were having to come back for Anna."

"So during that whole entire first year, they were doing this constant and she still didn't give up," June adds. "She's still done it, even with dealing with two deaths in her first year out there on her own."

For now, Alana is enjoying her time off before she has to return to campus for her sophomore year.

Related: Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Graduates from High School: 'So Proud,' Says Mama June Shannon

"I actually go back in two months, so I still have a little bit of time," she shares. "I've been back home in Georgia for a lot of my summer. I go back to Colorado [on] the 20th of this month, but I am ready to go back home for sure. I'm more than ready, like counting down the days."

In keeping her promise to Anna to continue her nursing studies, Alana has big hopes for her career.

"I'm just looking forward to helping people," she says. "I really want to be a neonatal nurse, so I want to work with little babies. I want to work with little babies, I don't want to have no babies though. That's my motto."

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Mama June: Family Crisis airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on WEtv.

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