Getting to Know the Twins at Academy
March 1, 2017
There are many twins in the Academy high school; some are mirror images of each other and some don’t look related. Twins have a unique and special bond that is often difficult for others to understand. People sometimes think that twins are close friends who can sometimes read each other’s minds. However, these twins prove that their bond goes much farther than stereotypes. Achona had the opportunity to sit down and ask some of Academy’s twins about what makes their relationship special.
The Perez twins are Juniors who are often mistaken for each other due to their extreme resemblance.
Achona Online: Who is older/By how long?
Lauren Perez (AHN c/0 2018): “I am older by 2 minutes.”
Megan Hughes (AHN c/0 2020): “Katie is older by less than 5 minutes.”
Lauren Dingle (AHN c/0 2019): “I am older by a minute.”
Kayla Eckermann (AHN c/0 2018): “Hailey is older by two minutes.”
The Eckermann twins play different sports, this complicates their schedule because they share a car.
Achona: Do you have to share most of your clothes and stuff with each other?
La. Perez: “We share all of our clothes, a room, and a bathroom.”
M. Hughes: “We share some clothes. We used to always match exactly when we were younger.”
K. Eckermann: “Being able to share clothes is a major perk, it’s like having twice the wardrobe, but only paying for half. Often times when I buy things for her, I like to keep in mind if it is something I would wear.”
Achona: What is an advantage of having a twin?
Li. Perez: “The advantage of having a twin is being able to get help in the classes we both take.”
M. Hughes: “We are in some of the same classes and can help each other with homework or studying. We also always have each other to talk to in new or uncomfortable situations.”
A. Dingle: “We usually study together for almost every class and we always will have each other to talk to.”
K. Eckermann: “Being able to have someone to always do homework with. I am also lucky to always have someone to talk to.”
H. Eckermann: “My twin is my best friend. She is always by my side, and I know that there will always be someone to support and be there for me.”
Katie and Megan Hughes are triplets with their brother Danny shown on the right.
Achona: How do you feel about getting confused with you sister since you guys look so similar?
Li. Perez: “It is funny when people get us mixed up especially when you are close with that person; for example, my parents have called me Lauren before (not often) but it happens.”
M. Hughes: “It was more of a problem at the beginning of the year coming to a new school, but people don’t have too much of a hard time distinguishing between us.”
A. Dingle: “We usually don’t get confused by other people because they say we do not look much alike and are easy to tell apart.”
The Eckermann twins agree that it is very fun to go through all of life’s celebrations and milestones together.
Achona: Do you guys share a car?
La. Perez is very content with their car situation saying, “We share two cars.”
K. Eckermann: “Hailey and I share a car which is both convenient and difficult: convenient because we share most of the same friends but difficult because we play different sports and have very split schedules. If our schedules do not coincide, we usually catch rides with girls on our teams who live close to our house.”
Achona: How do your birthdays work?
La. Perez: “We sing happy birthday twice, once for me and once for Lindsey.”
Li. Perez: “We celebrate our birthdays together with our family, but separate with our friends usually.”
M. Hughes: “We celebrate our birthdays together, and usually have a group party instead of individual parties. We have a lot of friends in common so it’s not an issue.”
A. Dingle: “We have always celebrated our birthdays together.”
K. Eckermann: “Ever since we were little our birthdays have been shared together. I don’t think me and Hailey have ever had a separate birthday.”
H. Eckermann: “On our birthday, we celebrate it together, and we both get presents. Although the presents are not the same, the presents are equal. Also, we often get the same type of present, but in different colors or styles.”
The Dingle twins always participate in the same celebrations with their friends for their birthday.
Achona: Do you guys plan on staying together for college?
La. Perez: “Probably not, we are both such different people so our college interests are different.”
H. Eckermann: “Kayla and I don’t plan on going to the same college because we have different interests.”
Katie Hughes (AHN c/0 2020): “We do not plan on going to the same college but do plan on going to the same state so we can be close to one another.”
Achona: Do you feel a closer connection to your twin than your other siblings, why?
La. Perez: “Yes, probably because we share a face.”
M. Hughes: “I feel a closer connection with my twin than to my other siblings because we don’t have any other sisters (the rest are brothers) and we share many experiences and similar interests.”
K. Eckermann: “I wouldn’t say we have a closer connection to one another, but sometimes we will both randomly say the same thing or be thinking the same thing. The weirdest thing is when one of us has a song stuck in our head, and the other one will randomly start singing it almost as if we know what each other are thinking.”
H. Eckermann: “No, I am also very close with my brother, The connection I feel to my twin is just different. It might be stronger because we are always together and know everything about each other. With that being said I am still equally close with both my brother and sister.”
The Perez twins have two other sisters, one that graduated last year.
Achona: What is one of the most cliche things someone has told you about being a twin?
K. Hughes: “I don’t know about ‘cliche’, but the single most repeated phrase I hear when I tell people is “That’s so cool!” I don’t know how to reply to that, so it’s a little awkward.”
K. Eckermann: “Something me and Hailey always get asked is “are y’all identical twins” and when they ask me that I literally die laughing because obviously, we don’t look anything alike.”
H. Eckermann : “When we were little people used to ask us if we could read each other’s mind. Also, The thing that people do that annoys me the most is when we tell people that we are twins and they say, “Oh, how can you be twins when you don’t look alike?” Or when people say, “No you’re not twins! You’re lying!” and refuse to believe us no matter how many times we tell them.”