For most people, the closest they will be to seeing what having a twin is like is by watching the 1998 classic, The Parent Trap. However, according to twinsrealm.com, there are 100 million people worldwide who are living as a twin. South’s student body is sprinkled with a handful of those pairs.
Seniors José and Armando Avila are identical twins. According to Armando, they look so similar that people mix them up on a daily basis. Wanting to test this theory, the Avila twins decided to impersonate one another to their science teacher, Cheryl Simon.
“It was my class […] and [José] was in there and then I was just waiting outside,” Armando said. “[Simon] didn’t even know it was [José and not me] and then I just walked in and everyone was laughing because they know [I have a twin], and [Simon] was like, ‘What’s going on?’”
José and Armando not only look identical but they sometimes share the same thoughts and dreams, according to the Avila twins. The boys recalled a time that they had dreamt the same dream about a giant turkey attacking their dog.
“It was a big turkey in our backyard, and my mom told us to get our clothes and go to our neighbor’s house,” Armando said. “Then our dog attacked the turkey, and then the turkey threw my dog against the wall. So my dog is on the floor and then we just went to our neighbor’s house, and [José and I] woke up after that.”
However, their appearance and dreams are not the only things that the Avila twins share. According to José, the boys are pictured together so often that it is rare to find a picture of one of them without the other.
“I can’t find pictures with just me,” José said. “I have never seen a picture with just me. When I do [‘About Me’] projects, I always have to cut [Armando] out.”
The Avilas are not the only twins who share the spotlight. Fraternal senior twins Jamie and Brent Studenroth began modeling when they were children because they were hireable as fraternal twins, according to the pair. Both Jamie and Brent were asked on several occasions to participate in photo-shoots, ranging from toy advertisements to furniture advertisements.
“There was one shoot for some furniture where we had to go to the beach and jump on this bed,” Brent said. “There was this fake dad with us that we had to play with. Both [Jamie and I] were like, ‘Who is this guy?’ We didn’t want to play with him.”
However, Jamie and Brent have not always shared the glory. According to Brent, the Studenroth twins were part of a program at Glen Grove Elementary School called TREE from third through fifth grade. At the end of fifth grade, each person in the program votes for four outstanding 5th graders to be named “TREE-toppers,” according to Brent.
“TREE-toppers [in] fifth grade I was crushed,” Brent said. “They called Megan Warshawsky, Jamie Studenroth and then Megan Kay, and I’m like ‘Okay, I’m next [to be called’.] [My teacher says,] ‘…and the fourth tree-topper is’, I stand up, [and my teacher calls] Tom Keading. I never said congratulations to Jamie.”
Fraternal senior twins Hinna and Sabina Raja have also gotten in trouble before at school due to being twins. Due to some form of twin telepathy, the Raja sisters have been accused of cheating, according to the sisters.
“We used to go to a private school, so we were always in the same class,” Sabina said. “[The teachers] would always put us on different sides of the room so they could get to know us as individuals better. Whenever we had to make a drawing or write a story, [Hinna and I] would [draw or write] the same thing. I remember [the teachers] would get freaked out. They would think we were cheating.”
The Raja twins are not always on the same page, however. According to Sabina, the sisters share a room where Hinna is more of the unorganized “bad twin” while Sabina likes to keep things in a neater manner.
“[Sabina’s] side of the room is always really, really neat,” Hinna said. “My side of the room there is always stuff everywhere. It’s like a line [down the middle].”
According to Sabina, the constant sharing and borrowing of clothes and space can get annoying at times, but she would never give up having a twin.
Similarly, Armando and José agree that the ever-present competition between the two can be tense at times, but they love having a same-age brother to grow up with. In addition, despite the gender difference, Jamie loves having a brother her age who doubles as her best friend.
