Being a twin comes with the same stories everyone has heard — twin telepathy, not being able to tell twins apart, sharing clothes and more. Yet, the most overlooked part is the friendship that comes with growing up and experiencing life together.
“It’s like having a built-in best friend who you can also base yourself off of,” sophomore Gordy Nilsen said.
Separation and Reconnection
Gordy and his brother, sophomore Rowan Nilsen, are identical twins. The two have always been best friends, and both run cross country and track for Pepperdine. However, they were separated for their first semester of college.
“He was at Loyola Marymount,” Gordy said. “Their team sadly got cut, and then our coaches recruited him and he was more than happy to come here.”
The Nilsen brothers were reunited again for the spring semester, and Gordy said he paid his former roommate to switch rooms so his brother could move in upon his arrival in Malibu.
Senior Matthew Covaci is also a twin. Similar to Gordy, Matthew was without his lifelong best friend, his identical twin brother senior Albert Covaci, during his first semester at Pepperdine.
The Covaci brothers were reunited for the spring semester of their first year. Matthew said being back with his brother made his life feel right again.
“It just felt like a piece of me was missing,” Matthew said. “I felt like half of myself.”
Identical Confusion
Now that the two have been at Pepperdine together for three years, Matthew said there is often a lot of mix up between the two of them. Though their closest friends can tell them apart, he said most people cannot.
Matthew further explained he believes this happens because they usually don’t tell people they are twins. He said he finds joy in letting people figure it out themselves, and even has fun messing around with people.
“Teachers think I’m Albert and I just say ‘What’s up?'” Matthew said. “In my mind, I’m like, ‘I’ve never met this person in my life,’ but I just go along with it.”
Gordy said he also does not tell people he is a twin, because it usually doesn’t come up in conversation. He said it was a weird transition meeting people individually his first semester, then having his brother come into the picture later on.
“It’s been crazy from me having my own year here myself,” Gordy said. “People see us now and they’re like ‘There’s been two of you this whole time?'”
Gordy said his brother shares the same sentiment Matthew experiences, as people he has never met often walk up to him.
“My friends who he hasn’t met will come up to him, and he’s like, ‘I have no idea who you are,'” Gordy said.
As a mother of 12-year-old identical twin daughters, Professor of Psychology Jennifer Harriger said she understands the confusion that comes with being a twin.
“When I first brought my daughters home from the hospital, I was worried I would mix them up,” Harriger said. “They were so identical, and I didn’t ‘know’ them yet.”
After taking off their hospital bracelets, Harriger said she painted one of her daughters’ big toenails pink. After a few weeks, she said she knew them so well that there was no chance she could mix them up.
Now that her daughters are grown up, Harriger said they are mixed up daily, and very few people can tell them apart.
“One of their teachers said that they are the most ‘identical’ set of identical twins she has had in her 30 years of teaching,” Harriger said. “Many people call them ‘the twins,’ which is very frustrating to my daughters, as they are individuals.”
A Built-In Competitor
Being an athlete, Gordy said his brother is not only his built-in best friend, but also someone he can always compete with.
“If he does something really well or runs really fast in a race, I know I can push myself to that level,” Gordy said. “There’s someone that you can always strive towards, but they can also push off of you to get better.”
Gordy said he especially feels lucky to have his brother during the summer months, as the team is separated and therefore do not get to train with one another. The two trained together every day over the summer, and Gordy said it felt like they were back in high school again.
Though they don’t play soccer anymore, the Covaci brothers spent many of their childhood and teenage years playing together. Matthew said he loved playing a sport with his brother, and also viewed it as a way to have someone to constantly compete with.
“It was a bit of a competition, whether it was on the field during practice or for a spot in the starting lineup,” Matthew said. “There would sometimes be a bit of electricity and tension between us, but it was never personal — it was just a thing to make us better.”
A Unique Relationship
When these sets of twins are not in competition and pushing one another to be the best they can be, they said they find immense comfort in knowing they always have someone there for them.
“The most defining quality of being a twin is having a forever best friend, and there is no loneliness,” Matthew said.
Gordy said one of his favorite parts about being a twin is having someone so similar to him, in ways beyond just their identical appearance.
“I’m lucky because I know a few twins that have complete different hobbies and interests,” Gordy said.
Gordy said him and his brother share the exact same interests, and especially enjoy surfing, skating and of course, running, alongside one another.
Speaking on the common myth of twin telepathy, Matthew said he truly believes him and his brother share some form of telepathic communication with one another. Furthermore, he finds their understanding of one another to be extremely unique.
“He gets me in a way that no one else ever will,” Matthew said. “The level of understanding is deeper, especially on a telepathical level. I know what he’s thinking most of the time.”
Even through the cliché nuances and mix-ups that come with being a twin, Matthew said he would not trade it for anything.
“It’s super super sacred — there’s nothing like it in the world,” Matthew said. “It’s such a lucky feeling, like a lottery. I’m very fortunate.”
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Contact Amanda Monahan via email: amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu
