Have you ever noticed that sometimes it seems like you run into certain people twice as often as you should? Have you ever considered the idea that that person might, in fact, be people?
While the pairs of twins at Dartmouth might not be quite as well known as NYU's Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, there are a fair share of them on campus -- even if you can't tell them apart.
So what is the typical day in the life of an average Dartmouth twin, you ask? Well, let's put it this way: even though their chromosomes might share some similarities, the range of twin experiences varies from inseparable "peas in pods" to twins who drop their own "beat."
Take the Corrilo twins, Natalie '11 and Crystal '11, for instance. These two go together like Tia and Tamara -- Natalie and Crystal are the quintessential sister act. And no, your eyes aren't playing tricks, you're seeing double.
Almost identical from genome to extracurriculars, Natalie and Crystal share a lot in common from cheerleading to sorority membership. But they want you to know, Dartmouth, that same zygote or not, they formed two separate embryos. And I thought Bio 11 would never pay off -- my parents must be so proud.
"People always assume both of us are one-person, but we are not a one person unit." Natalie said.
Although they are commonly referred to as "the twins," Natalie and Crystal have separate majors, varied interests and, for our convenience, even different hairstyles.
And, for the most part, the Corrilo girls said that they .find that the benefits of having each other far outweigh the disadvantages.
"Often we complete each other's thoughts, or respond at the same time or can guess at each other's response," Crystal said. "It's nice to have such a strong support group away from home. It makes trying something new less scary. I think we have an exceptional bond."
Karen Sen '10, of the Sen duo, echoed this sentiment when describing her relationship with her twin, Paula '10.
"Having Paula makes several aspects of my daily life a lot easier," Karen said. "I have a study partner at the tip of my fingers, double the amount of [DBA], double the wardrobe, a partner in crime, a person to grab food with, a constant source of comedic relief and a person to speak to without inhibition when something absurd happens on campus."
Other pairs of twins, such as Greg and Abbe Sokol '10, operate on less distinct wavelengths. The Sokols said twin life is the only life they have ever known, so ultimately, they are uncertain of what life, and college would be like without their other half.
Although I am no scientist (despite my killer Bio 11 vocabulary), the less in-sync behavior of some twins seems to be a function of gender more than anything else.
Greg and Abbe Sokol, however, might throw a slight wrench in this theory. Despite the fact that the Atlantic Ocean currently separates them, both managed to work into conversation the issue surrounding Greg's knowledge -- or lack of knowledge -- of Sigma Delta sorority's door code.
Greg claims that Abbe provides him with the updated code every term. Abbe emphatically claims she never supplies Greg with her sorority's door code. Regardless, Sigma Delt ladies, I'd be wary -- who knows what kind of havoc a whole gang of Sig Eps could wreak.
What about those who are twin-less, you ask? And not people like you and I, silly, but those who have twins who go to school elsewhere. What's that like? Is it like salt without pepper? Or turkey without gravy?
Although it might have provided this column with some soap opera-worthy fodder, I didn't come across any nasty stories about only one twin being accepted, that would probably constitute sibling rivalry to the nth degree. For the most part, among those I spoke with whose twins did not join them at the College, either Dartmouth wasn't a good fit for both twins or the twins weren't that close to begin with -- or some combination of the two.
"I have a twin brother who goes to Brown," Anna Dev '09 said. "We decided to go to separate schools mainly because he said he wanted to and we just liked different colleges. We were never super close, and since he's a boy and I'm a girl, we were never constantly at each other's side, and always had different friend groups that would hang out now and then."
