Deuces Wild

Twins discuss life as pair ‚ proving two heads are better than one

Most everyone at some point or another has dreamed of getting out of a class, a test or an uncomfortable situation by substituting a person of exact resemblance in for him or herself. Although these identical twins may not take full advantage of that leisure, they definitely have some major advantages over those going solo.

There are many twins at JMU, many of which still live together after leaving home. Cindy and Vicky Julian are two freshmen twins living in Shorts Hall. Even though they are in the same dorm, they chose to live separately from one another. "We wanted to be more of individuals and have new experiences of our own," Cindy said. Ironically, the term "twins" does not usually come up in Cindy’s and Vicky’s vocabularies. "We call you guys singles!" Vicky said.

Another pair of twins, freshmen Sacha and Heather Elliott, accompanies Cindy and Vicky in Shorts Hall, living only a few rooms down from one another. Even though Heather’s top choice for college was the Naval Academy, they both are happy they ended up here. "I’m glad she’s here because I wasn’t ready to part with her," Sacha said.

Seniors Jennifer and Sarah Barrett are twins whom incidentally both are marketing majors and sisters in the sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma. "We didn’t talk about it, which one we wanted to join, but it was both our first choice," Sarah said. Jennifer said, "We both fit in with the same sorority." Their decision to live together was affected by many different reasons. "We have a lot of the same friends and only one car, we share the same clothes _— it was just more convenient," Sarah said.

All of the twins agreed that the college atmosphere is much different than their high school and the atmosphere they grew up in at home. "We’re known more here for our different personalities rather than just as the twins," Heather said. Cindy and Vicky agree that college has changed their experiences as twins. "Before we came here, I forgot I was a twin because everyone back home knew who we were," Cindy said. "Then we come here and have to tell people we’re twins all over again."

As commonly thought, these twins definitely share similar likes and dislikes, as well as an almost sixth sense when the other one’s sister has something going on with them. "I almost cut my finger off once when I was 15 and had to go to the hospital," Cindy said. Vicky said, "I was at youth group at the same time she was at the hospital, and the same finger she had cut started to twitch on my hand, but the rest of my fingers stayed still." Sacha and Heather also can relate.

"We finish each others’ sentences all the time," Sacha said. "I know when she’s crying because I hurt inside and know intuitively," Heather said.

While the Barrett sisters are seniors, they still receive the occasional wave or greeting from someone mistaking them for the other twin. "I’ll get random waves on campus and I’ll just wave back," Sarah said.

However, these twins also have a little fun with people who actually have approached them correctly.

"When people are actually right in calling us by our real name, we play mind games with them and trick them into thinking they’re wrong," Jennifer said. The two sets of freshmen twins also deal with the name mistakes. "We answer to each other’s names because we don’t want to have to keep explaining ourselves," Cindy said.

"When we were little, we would switch classes on April Fool’s Day and our teacher’s didn’t know at all — they thought it was so funny," Vicky said. Jennifer and Sarah have shared other experiences. "She broke up with my boyfriend for me in high school and we played tricks on the movers by being in different places at the same time," Sarah said. In more recent years, the twins have done a few tricks to their fellow college students as well. "We say we were asked to be on the Double Mint commercial and that we were born on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1; people will actually believe us — it’s funny!" Jennifer said.

It may seem as though having a clone around all the time could have some disadvantages, these twins disagree whole-heartedly. "It’s like having a built-in support system; we’re each others counselors," Sacha said. All in all, their opinions of being twins are all positive, and as far as the "singles" go, they seem to be missing out.

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