When I asked senior twins Megan and Melanie Kleppin what three words they would use to describe each other: “sweet, caring, and smart” is what Megan came up with while Melanie said that her twin is “funny, outgoing, and she can always put a smile on my face.”

On June 4, 1996, Megan and Melanie were born two minutes apart around 11:30 pm at the Evanston Hospital. They attended Park View middle school and then transitioned to West where they focused on a lot of sports. Both girls played volleyball their freshman year. Megan also played soccer for a while but stopped this year and Melanie is part of the cross country and track team.

“For the most part we have similar personalities,” Megan said. “We are both shy at first but when we get to know people our true selves come out. I would say there are some opposite things about us but not many.”

“We both like spicy food, we have the same sense of humor, we have our own inside jokes, we both love animals, and we both hate bugs especially spiders,” Melanie added.

The girls also enjoy listening to the same kind of music: pop and country. Some of their favorites include Katy Perry, The 1975, and One Direction.

One thing that makes the girls different is the fact that Megan is believed to be a more girly version of Melanie.

“I would say I’m a little more girly: I have my ears pierced, I wear makeup, and I don’t like running but [Melanie] does,” Megan said.

Both girls plan on attending Oakton Community College for the first two years to get their general education credits out of the way, but they are not sure if they will be together after leaving Oakton.

“Since we have different interests I think we will split up after that,” Megan said. “We are still undecided on our majors though. I know I want to do something with either animals or maybe art or cooking.”

“I might consider teaching or social work,” Melanie said.

Melanie remembers a funny story of what they did when they were younger that their mother told her.

“Our mom told me that we used to run just in our diapers around the bases after one of our siblings baseball games,” she said.

“We were weird kids,” Megan recalled.

During the interview, Megan said that she might not have been alive to this day if it wasn’t for a kidney transplant performed on her when she was only two and half years old.

“I can’t imagine life without Megan,” Melanie said. “She lights up my day when I’m feeling down and she always makes me laugh. I can’t imagine not having her by my side all the time.”