During school meeting on October 26, Adelia and Angelia Castillo took part in the year-long series of speeches organized by Mr. Kelvin Martinez, the Dean of Multicultural Affairs, and Ms. Mavis Agnew, the Director of Residence Life.
Growing up as twins, Adelia and Angelia have been grouped as one for most of their lives. In an interview, Adelia said, “It didn’t help that our mom dressed us the same all the time. You don’t really decide that you’re twins. The world decides for us that we’re the same person. Parents do it because it’s cute, but they don’t understand what it really does to the kids after a while.” As Adelia became a teenager, she became confused about her true identity as an individual. “As [Angelina and I] got older, people asked ‘Why do you guys dress the same?’ We didn’t really know the answer because we were so accustomed to doing so. I started questioning myself. Who am I? I know I’m Addie, but how am I different from my sister?”
Angelia and Adelia were separated for the first time during their freshman year of high school. “I think going to school without Addie was a good experience because I now know how to talk to people and make friends by myself. I never had to make friends by myself before. It is was hard because I didn’t know how to talk to people. Addie made me feel confident,” said Angelia. Adelia also mentioned that not being together with Angelina for the first time was challenging for her as well. “Angie was my safety belt, the person I could always rely on. In high school, there were so many groups [that were] so big and way different from middle school. I really wished Angie was there with me because she’s what keeps me grounded.” On the other hand, for the first time in their lives, both of them were seen as individuals in their friend groups rather than as twins.
When they came to Northwood together, it was hard for them to be grouped as one again. However, having a strong impact on the community and being outgoing made them think that the school community would not mix them up. When they figured that their names had been mixed up in the directory and that the yearbook had two pictures of Adelia instead of each having one, they were upset. “We considered ourselves to be a big part of the community. We put ourselves out there so that people would know us. When the school mixed us up in the yearbook, I realized that I didn’t want to just be ‘the twins’ anymore,” said Adelia.
To conclude their speech, Angelia and Adelia summarized that labeling people, for example, as the international students or the soccer team, has a strong effect on the community.
