“The only thing that makes them different from other brothers is that they share the same birthday,” sophomore and sister of the triplets Josephine O’Shaughnessy said.

“Birthdays are weird because we basically get the same gifts, not from our parents, but from other relatives,” freshman Brendan O’Shaughnessy said.

“We do get different cakes,” said freshman Desmond O’Shaughnessy. “Neil gets a chocolate eclair cake, I [Desmond] get a vanilla cake, and Brendan gets a custard like cake that’s kind of like yogurt and ice cream.”

Coming from a private school, St. Juliana in Chicago, the boys didn’t know many people who would be in their incoming freshman class. But they soon adopted well to transitioning from a private to public school.

“I used to see them a lot in middle school, but now I only see them occasionally in the hallways. I actually try to avoid them because they love to embarrass me,” Josephine said.

“Going into high school, we really looked forward to meeting new people and being able to take advantage of all the opportunities West has to offer,” Neil O’Shaughnessy said, Desmond and Brendan shaking their heads in agreement behind him.

“Everything that comes out of Neil’s mouth is a joke,” Josephine said. “He is probably the most caring and definitely the funniest. He’s also the laziest when we are at home, always asking Brendan, Desmond, or I to get him things.”

“Neil and I are both on the wrestling team,” Desmond said. “But, I think I’m going to try out for gymnastics in the spring also.”

“Desmond is probably the smartest in our family and I really love that he laughs at everything, even my terrible jokes. He is a bit clumsy and has been to the emergency room a few too many times, but otherwise he’s a really well rounded kid,” Josephine said.

“Currently I’m on the diving team and I am a part of the theater departments stage crew,” Brendan said.

“Brendan is crazy artistic. He can draw almost anything and it looks good. Him and I are both involved in theater, but I like acting while he likes backstage work. I’d say we get along the best because our personalities are so alike,” Josephine said.

“Growing up we did all fight, but now we are all super close and we are never bored because someone is always home and there is always something to do. It’s nice because you know you always have one of your siblings there for you,” Brendan said.