During the beginning of senior year, like so many others, I had a meeting with my college counselor. I won’t go into specifics of what this meeting entailed, but let’s just say I felt out of sorts afterward. My brain scrambled to process the stressful college-related news I had just received. While my stress was, of course, no fault of my college counselor (who is incredible), I had an anxious, jittery feeling that wouldn’t go away when I walked out of her office. However, I know that whenever a feeling like that comes around, there is always one person I can rely on to talk through my emotions: my twin.

And turn to her I did. After my meeting ended, I made a beeline to the tables outside the senior lounge, desperately scanning the sea of navy blue senior sweatshirts for her. When I finally spotted her and walked over, she immediately noticed something was off, as siblings (especially twins) always do. While she looked at me with a worried expression, I asked her if she could talk to me for a few minutes. She stood up and we spent the next 15 minutes walking around the halls, unpacking my thoughts and feelings. Afterward, as I sat down to eat my lunch, my anxiety had abated, and my head felt much clearer and calmer.

This is why I love having a twin at school. Whether I just bawled in front of a teacher, horribly embarrassed myself in math class or had a difficult college counseling meeting, she is the person who helps me the most at the exact moment I need it. At such a rigorous school where emotional volatility is far too common, having my key support system constantly around has provided me with a much-needed source of comfort.

I also find a lot of joy in my sister at school. This joy may be the effect of my sister’s exceptionally hilarious qualities, but it is also a byproduct of an understanding that is unique to twins and cannot be replicated with friends. For instance, I can lock eyes with her at a table after someone says something silly and know that the two of us are thinking the exact same thing. But also, simply being able to joke with her between back-to-back STEM classes (the bane of my existence) provides a crucial sliver of happiness to get me through the day.

Finally, I never have to worry about making friends or feeling isolated because I always have my twin to turn to. She has been my built-in best friend since 7th grade. This is not to say that having a sister at school means that we are together all of the time, but ever since walking into Marlborough on our first day of 7th grade, I have never had to experience the anxiety of being without someone to talk to.

Do not expect that having a twin at your school is always a walk in the park, because that’s an unrealistic expectation. Ultimately, though, it is such a relief to know that my person, someone who knows and understands me better than anyone else, is never farther than a few classrooms away when I need her most.