If you ever confuse a set of twins, triplets, or quadruplets for each other you are not alone. One set of twins here at East Meck look so alike, their mother fed one of them twice, mistaking him for his brother. To get to know some of the school’s twins and quadruplets, read on.

The Su Twins

Seniors Jimmy and Tommy Su are identical twins. They also have two older sisters, Mimi and Maria, who graduated from East. You might have seen them around campus, or on the football field. Jimmy is a member of the varsity football team and describes himself as more outgoing, while Tommy does gymnastics, and is the twin that you might have seen doing flips at the pep rally. He describes himself as more chill than his brother.

The two look identical and say that people are always mistaking them for each other.

“Every day people come up to me thinking that I’m Jimmy,” Tommy said. “They try to guess who is who.”

Sometimes that can result in awkward situations.

“In middle school I had a girlfriend,” Jimmy said. “She walked all the way down the hall thinking Tommy was me. It was really funny.”

Being a twin can have its benefits, like extra gaining attention, being able to share things, being able to blame the other twin, and switching classes without anyone knowing.

However, sometimes the extra attention can become a little much.

“Some people who have had issues with my brother or are good friends with him have come up to me,” Jimmy said. “I am just like, ‘sorry, you have the wrong person!’”

“In our family, Tommy and I connect better with each other than our other siblings,” Jimmy said. “We are with each other all the time.”

When you are around someone a lot, like the Sus are, it can be strange when you are separated. Since you are in such close proximity with the other person, since birth, the absence is very noticeable.

“If I were separated from my brother for a day it would feel weird, and a little empty,” Tommy said.

The Alvarado Quadruplets

Overall, being a twin at East Meck can have its ups and downs, but the Sus get along pretty well. However, there are just two of them. Now imagine having two more similar looking siblings. Meet the Alvarados.

The Alvarado siblings are sophomores and quadruplets. There are three brothers, Joshua, Jonathan, and Bryan, and one sister, Natalie. They are each five minutes apart, with Joshua being the oldest and Natalie being the youngest. Interestingly, they all look different.

“When it comes time for our friends and family to sing happy birthday, it’s quite a mouthful to say all our names,” Natalie said.

In their two years here, all four of the siblings have had classes together, but ironically are not all in the same homeroom.

Even though they can seem very similar, each sibling has a different personality and are interested in different things. They all help get along well, however, and help each other when it comes to chores or homework.

“Sometimes the boys will go off and do their own thing,” Natalie said.

As far as extra attention, these four get quite a bit.

“People are always shocked that there are not just two, or three of us, but four!” Jonathan said.

When the Alvarados were little, they were on a recreational soccer team. Parents used to call it the Alvarado team because if just one of them were missing, the whole team couldn’t play for lack of players.

“Being a quadruplet is like having three best friends with you at all times,” Natalie said.

The Harris Twins

John and Mark Harris are fraternal twins and juniors. They are both 16 but John is older by one minute. Although the brothers don’t look exactly alike, they make up for it by doing almost every activity together, from cross country, to tennis, to Boy Scouts. They even share a lot of classes together.

“We try to sign up for different classes but we still end up together,” Mark said, “But at least I still have my own room!”

The Harris twins are part of an East Meck dynasty. Both their parents and their other siblings (Virginia, 22 and Phillip, 20) graduated from here.

The Harrises said there are pros and cons of being a twin at East.

“It is difficult because we are looked at as the same person sometimes,” John said.

However, there are far more benefits than drawbacks, they said, like having someone to always play sports with or help with homework.

“I never have to be alone if I don’t want to be,” John said.

Unlike some sets of twins or triplets, John and Mark like to talk about being a twin.

“It is an interesting conversation starter,” Mark said. “People think it’s pretty cool.”