Rivalries are not limited to an athletic competition on a court or field. Siblings also cope with fighting, boundary violations and a lack of personal space. While most only see their brother or sister at home, 29 pairs of siblings also see each other on campus.
Senior Daniel Kaiser, a receiver for the varsity football team, and his sister, Sam Kaiser, ’10, began their second year sharing a campus.
?It?s fun having my little sister here,? Daniel said, ?and it?s nice always having someone to talk to and to hang out with.?
Daniel and Sam often argued, but believe they became closer since they started attending high school together.
?I remember this one time,? Daniel said, ?when I was about 12 and Sam was 10; she was sick with food poisoning, sitting on our parents? bed. I wanted to watch TV in our parents room and I ran and jumped on their bed and Sam threw up all over my leg.?
Some pairs struggle to find independent identities apart from each other.
?It?s really frustrating having people always asking if we are identical twins,? Janae Keys-Bramlett, ’09 said, ?and then they argue with me when I say that we are fraternal twins. I have never really had a desire to switch places with my sister because we are always together, we have the same friends so there is no point.?
Janae and her sister, Tonia, both play on the tennis team, take four of the same classes and run errands together.
?There was a time when my sister and I went to the store on this little electric scooter,? Janae said. ?I was driving and holding groceries while Tonia was in the back. I was going up the ramp of McDonalds and instead of hitting the break, I hit the gas and rammed right into a bench.?
The sisters feel their experiences create a bond.
?Because we spend so much time together, we can relate to each other in a unique way,? Tonia said. ?It?s like we have our own world that only we can understand.?
Seniors Michelle and Jennifer Rose have been in all the same classes since junior high. In addition to doing homework together and playing on the same sport teams, the identical twins share everything from a hairbrush to a car.
?We?ve given up on trying to make people recognize us separately,? Michelle said. ?Most don?t make an effort to differentiate us, so we?ve stopped trying.?
Despite the time they spend together, the twins compete over grades, soccer and driving skill.
?It?s hard to say who is better because we are so evenly matched,? Jennifer said. ?When I compete against other people I don?t try as hard but when I?m up against her I have to win.?
Unlike Jennifer and Michelle, John Carreon, ?09, is unaffected by the fact that he attends the same school as his brother, Abel Carreon, ?11. They find it difficult to get along. With only football and video games as common interests, they discover difficulties in their every-day life.
?We don?t really talk at school very often,? John said. ?We are both in football, but he?s on JV and I?m on varsity so we still don?t really see each other. We do find the time to play video games together, but we still have trouble avoiding arguments.?
Few students also have an older brother or sister who works as a faculty member.
?I like teaching at the same school as my brother (Ronnie Giannetta, ?08),? Natalie Douty, English teacher, said. ?We have this deal where he picks up my Starbucks and I buy him breakfast once a week; it?s very convenient.?
Despite arguments on campus, some who share a classroom each day treasure the opportunity.
“I’m glad I am able to go to the same school as my sister,” Jennifer said, “we don’t always get along, but it allows us to appreciate our relationship. We may not go to the same college and we’ll always look back to these years.”
For more information, see Michelle Rose’s March 2006 article, Sibling rivalry, bonds evident on campus.