Twinning
by Cara Echols 鈥19
Through shared experiences, from Chapels to Forums to trips across the swinging bridge
and many late night study sessions in between, students form strong bonds at Bluffton;
so strong the connections formed can develop into students building a second family
right on campus. But eight current students came to campus with both their best friend
and their closest family member already beside them. Four pairs of twins are currently
studying at Bluffton. From freshmen to seniors, there is one pair for each class.
Leslie and LaJohn Beasley
Fraternal twins
Year: First year
Majors: Social work & Business
What鈥檚 one of the best parts about being a twin?
Leslie: 鈥淵ou have someone that understands you, everything
about you. Even if he鈥檚 a boy, he understands everything about me even though I鈥檓
a girl.鈥
LaJohn: 鈥淚 know her very well, and she knows me. And because she knows me very well, she
can annoy me very easily.鈥
Leslie: 鈥沦补尘别.鈥
What about the cons?
LaJohn: "I can't think if any cons. But I want to know what it's like being an identical
twin."
Leslie: "I feel like that would change everything, like if I was with a girl twin all the
time."
LaJohn: "I'm glad we're fraternal."
What's it like having a twin on campus:
Leslie: "It was a big deal when we came to orientation. I remember everyone was like, 'oh,
you're the twins.' But it doesn't really affect us at all."
LaJohn: "I don't really thing it affects us."
What makes you individually unique?
LaJohn: 鈥淚 mean we鈥檙e interested in the same stuff other than she likes guys and I like girls
I guess. That鈥檚 probably
the only thing we don鈥檛 have in common.鈥
Leslie: 鈥淲e鈥檙e like two opposite people; it鈥檚 really weird. Our personalities are completely
different. He is super chill, laid back, and very social, where I鈥檓 introverted. We
balance each other out.鈥
LaJohn: 鈥淲e鈥檙e very different people. We have similar interests, but it鈥檚 like interests
in different ways.鈥
Do you remember dressing similarly or do you now?
Leslie: "My older brother is just a year apart so our parents dressed the boys together when
we were younger."
LaJohn: "Me and my brother looked a lot alike when we were younger."
Leslie: "Yeah, so they like twinned them."
Does having a twin differ from an ordinary sibling?
Leslie: "I don't think it would be any different because we have an older brother. I don't
think if he came here it would be much different."
LaJohn: "If I didn't have a twin I think I would be a little more independent or she would
be a little more independent. We would be able to do our own thing."
Leslie: "Oh, I see what you're saying, because we do the same things."
Do you think you have twin telepathy:
LaJohn: "Uh, sort of, kind of."
Leslie: "We played a trick on my volleyball team. Like they would ask LaJohn a question and
he would tell them something and then signal me. Then they would ask me the question
and I would say the same thing. I think that's the funniest thing we do to people."
Benjamin
and Alexander Weaver
Fraternal twins
Year: Sophomores
Majors: Psychology
What鈥檚 it like having a twin on campus?
Ben: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 closer than even having a friend on campus, and especially since we鈥檙e
both doing a psych major it鈥檚 like we鈥檙e going through school together. It鈥檚 not just
like friends doing the same thing, but you know whatever you go into in the end you鈥檙e
still going to be connected in that way.鈥
Alex: 鈥淏ecause of our majors, we have a lot of similar classes.鈥
Ben: 鈥淚t helps cause we can ask each other questions and advice on what to take.鈥
Do you remember dressing similarly or do you now?
Ben: 鈥淥ur styles are different. He likes t-shirts and hoodies. We both like flannels,
but I always wear v-necks and jeans.鈥
Alex: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 intentionally try to dress alike. Sometimes we just end up that way because
we have a lot of the same clothes. So sometimes it just kind of happens.鈥
Howard and Dean Walters
Fraternal twins
Year: Juniors
Majors: IT/Business & Biology/Pre-med
What about the cons?
Howard: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think there would be any.鈥
Dean: 鈥淲e get along pretty well.鈥
Howard: 鈥淵eah, I mean we don鈥檛 hate each other, and we
have such different schedules.鈥
Dean: 鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 not like we ever see each other because we
are so busy. So I can鈥檛 really think of any cons.鈥
Does having a twin differ from an ordinary sibling?
Dean: 鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 not like we鈥檙e identical twins and do the same thing all the time.鈥
Howard: 鈥淵eah, I mean even growing up we always were in the same grade and same classes,
but it was just normal.鈥
Dean: 鈥淲e are two totally different people.鈥
Austin
and Kevin Every
Identical twins
Year: Seniors
Majors: Information technology
What鈥檚 one of the best parts about being a twin?
Austin: 鈥淲ell, normal people they have to find their best friend. When you have a twin, you鈥檙e
kind of born with them. So you鈥檙e always with them.鈥
Kevin: 鈥淚t can be helpful sometimes. Like you might have a best friend, but you may not
live in the same area. Or, I can wear his clothes if I need something. We drive home
together which is nice; we share a car.鈥
Do you think you have twin telepathy?
Austin: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get a list of things that we know are the same, so we can freak people
out. Other than that, we just say the same thing at the same time.鈥
Kevin: 鈥淭here were times where I would tell my mom something about college and then five
minutes later Austin would come up, without talking to me, and say the exact same
thing. I don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 twin telepathy, but we definitely think the same.鈥
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