Seeing double: the experience of having a sibling at school

While scanning the sprawling hallways and lounges of Blake, the typical scene tends to be clusters of people often organized by grade, friends, sports, or hobby. But on occasion, you may spot a dynamic duo of siblings either battling to the death or sharing a heartfelt hug.

The love-hate relationships and interactions of siblings captivate their audiences, especially in a school setting. This familial element can stir up excitement even on the dullest of school days.

For those involved in the relationships, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to sharing the halls with someone so familiar. CC Wallin ‘18 describes some key advantages of the companionship as “getting rides everywhere, having money, having someone to talk to if you’re bored.”

Will Lyman ‘19 offers something similar, “you have someone to talk to about how nasty the school lunch is every night and you can talk to someone about school events other than parents.”

Apart from these unique advantages to the situation, Wallin pointed out that being a sister has some downsides, such as “not being able to wear their clothes and not being able to talk to their friends or people in their grade because you’ll get bullied or shunned.” These opinions make it clear that being a sibling can mean whatever you want it to mean. In other words, siblinghood functions best when you make the most out of it.

On a slightly different note, Jake Borgida ‘17 finds himself in very close quarters with his twin brother. Borgida says that having a brother in the same grade and even some of the same classes makes school easier because of the ability to do work together, but comments: “we have the same friends… so sometimes it can be more fun but if we’re fighting then it sucks.”

Jake’s counterpart, Alex Borgida ‘17 has his own input on having a twin at school. Alex says that having a brother at school is “more fun, but more competitive because you have the same parents so you’re kind of competing for the same approval of your parents.” In regards to friends, he shares “it’s really fun because we have most of the same friends so we can mess around together. But it gets annoying because you spend so much time with someone there’s no way you’re not gonna start fighting.”