If you’ve ever waved at someone and realized it wasn’t who you thought it was, you’re not alone. Around campus, a few students get mistaken for each other all the time. I talked to two pairs who deal with mix-ups the most: Sydnie & Bella and Ryan & Tobi. Here’s what they had to say about always being confused for their “look-alike.”
Sydnie thinks she and Bella share some similar features. “Sometimes I believe me and Bella look alike, but it’s only because of a few features we have in common,” she said. For her, the biggest similarities are their hair, skin tone, and maybe their eyes. Bella doesn’t really agree. When I asked if she thinks they look alike, she just said, “No.” She explained that while they have the same skin tone, hair color, and even the same Hawaiian/Mexican background, “our features are very different.” Both of them have had plenty of mix-ups over the years. Bella said teachers used to call her “Sydnie” a lot. While Sydnie shared her funniest moment of a friend wishing Bella a happy birthday on Sydnie’s birthday. When it comes to telling them apart, Sydnie says their friend groups make it easier. Bella’s advice is even simpler: “Just take a better look.”
The second pair has been called “long-lost brothers” more times than they can count. Still, both of them say they don’t actually look alike. Ryan thinks they share one feature: “Mainly the chin or jawline,” he said. Everything else such as height, hair color, and clothes is different. Even with that, he remembers seniors last year insisting the two of them looked “exactly the same.” Tobi has never believed they look alike. “Not since day one,” he said. But he gets why people compare them. The main things people point out are their acne/acne scars and their eyes. Their funniest mix-up
happened during baseball. “People would pass me the ball thinking I’m Ryan or vice versa,” Tobi said. “It caused a lot of confusion.” Ryan doesn’t get annoyed when people call him Tobi, and he thinks the mix-ups have slowed down. Tobi agrees things are better this year but says last year people really stuck with the “long-lost brother” idea.
Even though none of the four students think they actually look that much alike, the mix-ups still happen—sometimes every week, sometimes less now. A shared feature here or there is enough to confuse people in a busy hallway or crowded classroom. Whether it’s mistaken birthdays, wrong names, or passing the ball to the wrong person, these students have pretty much gotten used to it. And for everyone else on campus, it might be time to double-check who you’re waving at.
