Out of every 100 births in the United States, approximately 3 are twins. Growing up with shared birthdays and genetic information, twins often lead lives side by side. For some of them, it also means sharing the same school environment.

In a Q&A with a set of twins from each grade, The Muse explored what it is like to be amongst that 3% of the United States population. 

Here are the twins featured: 

• Vocal and theatre seniors Madeleine and Emma Thron
• Piano juniors Jeffrey and Hannah Zimmerman
• Piano sophomores Anthony and Nicholas Stan
• Dance freshmen Madison and Mackenzie Sheehan

Q&A

Q: How do you feel different from your twin?

A: “Because I’m a girl and he’s a guy, as we grow older, he’s gonna develop different friend groups and different interests.” – Hannah Zimmerman

A: “I just want to put it out there that we do not look as similar as people think we do. They’re always like, ‘Oh, we get you guys confused.’ But I don’t understand, we’ve got different hair and different facial features.” – Anthony Stan 

A: “We definitely have different personalities. (Mackenzie is) more outgoing, and I’m more introverted.” Mackenzie adds on, ”Different styles too.”  – Madison and Mackenzie Sheehan

A: “I think in a lot of ways. (Madeleine is) definitely more of like a social butterfly, and I’m more reserved. She has a lot of friends where I value a few friendships that are close.” – Emma Thron

A: “Emma has always had a love for fashion and technical theater. I’ve really always liked music. We both used to do music in elementary school, but she’s gotten out of it and found a different passion for tech, and I’ve kept that passion.” –  Madeleine Thron

A: “I’m not exactly sure. Probably not as good as him at math, and then I’m better at science.” – Nicholas Stan

Q: How do you feel similar to your twin?

A: “I think being a twin you’re kind of considered almost as a unit. So growing up, it was always like, ‘Oh, Hannah and Jeffrey are going to go to this event together.’ So we always grew up doing the same things.” – Hannah Zimmerman

A: “Well besides our looks, we both like to help people that are in need. We love working with kids. We love the environment and the ocean. And a lot of our mannerisms are the same.” – Emma Thron

Q: Do you ever get compared to your twin, and how does that affect you?

A: “Obviously, Nicholas is better than me at some things. Sometimes I just have to accept I’m good at some things, and he’s good at other things. And sometimes we just fill in the gaps between each other, we kind of complete each other.” – Anthony Stan

A:  “I would say I compare myself to him sometimes. It could be like a certain test grade, because we’re taking the same level of courses almost with the same teachers. But most of the time, it’s not usually a very significant thing. It’s kind of like how I would compare myself to my friends, or how my friends would compare them to me.” – Hannah Zimmerman

A: “I do get compared to my twin. I didn’t really let it affect me because I understand, and accepted that we’re different.” – Jeffrey Zimmerman

A: “All the time. Honestly, it kind of always happened, but growing up, like you kind of get used to it. But I think it was kind of worse when I switched schools (junior year to Dreyfoos), because people knew her more than she knew me. So you’re constantly compared, like who has the better grades? A better outfit? It’s kind of exhausting, and it kind of sucks. And even sometimes last year when people would call me the ‘other one’ because they didn’t know my name, or anything because I was new to the school. It kind of sucks to be compared, but it is also like a drive for me to be better.” – Emma Thron

A: “I think so, just because from the time we were born, we’ve always come in a pair. When we’re hanging out with people, it’s always like, the twins come to hang out. It’s kind of hard to create your own sense of identity when you know you have someone that looks just like you. Going to Dreyfoos alone (for the first two years), the new friends I made didn’t know about Emma. So it was kind of like I was getting my own sense of independence in a way.” – Madeleine Thron

Q: Do you feel that being a twin has shaped you as a person?

A: “To be honest, yes and no, I feel like having a twin is also kind of like having a sibling. This person will always be there for you, and he’ll always give you advice when needed, and he’ll just help you out whenever you need. And I think he’s had a big influence on me, not just values, but also interests like music tastes. So I do think he kind of influenced me as a person, but probably the same way as any sibling would influence their sibling.” – Hannah Zimmerman

A: “Definitely. It’s a special bond, and I really enjoy being a twin, because you can do many things together.” Mackenzie adds on, “Same, you get more connections and experiences in a way.” – Madison and Mackenzie Sheehan

A: “100%. We both are growing together, because we understand each other so much better, compared to other siblings. We go to school together, we have the same classes, and we have a couple of the same friends.” – Jeffrey Zimmerman