“Is Neda Riaziat here?” English teacher Natasha Ritchie asked her English 11 Honors class on the first day of school.

“Yes, I’m here,” Neda’s twin, Ava, responded. Both twins broke out laughing, wondering if Ritchie had noticed that the wrong Riaziat had answered.

When people meet juniors Ava and Neda, it’s easy to get them confused: Their hair rests on their shoulders the same way, they are nearly the same height, they hang out with the same friends and their facial features are almost completely identical, leading to confusion about their identities.

Despite how similar they are, the twins like to make it a point to identify the small quirks and unique characteristics that differentiate them from each other. For example, Ava said that she is much more girly than Neda in terms of their style of clothing and personality.

The two share the same group of friends, but they said they do enjoy spending time without the other, especially when it comes to hanging out with friends.

“Sometimes I’ll make plans with my friends and they’ll ask me if I want to invite Ava, and I usually say no,” Neda joked.

At the same time, they said that they have a special bond that keeps them close, despite natural ups and downs in their relationship.

Ava and Neda l consider themselves “very similar,” but their close family and friends definitely see them as having their own characteristics.

“Even though they’re twins, they’re unique people, so I have a different kind of friendship with each of them,” said junior Kiran Chandrashekhar, who has been friends with the twins for six years.

Despite this, the twins claim they have the same sense of humor and have inside jokes that only they understand.

“One time we were at a Persian party at our uncle’s house and that one Kenny G song started playing and we just started laughing and no one else knew why,” said Neda.

Since they have similar interests and extracurricular activities, they often get mixed up for each other during soccer practices and classes.

The twins had four classes together freshman year and a couple throughout their sophomore and junior years. They described teachers mixing up their names as just something they have always had to deal with. Sometimes they even mess with people and pretend to be the other twin.  

Because they spend so much time together, the twins said they sometimes find each other annoying to be around, and also compete with each other to spend time with their older brother, Naveed, whenever he comes home from college.

“When my brother comes home, I always want to spend time with him alone and Ava wants the same,” Neda said. “We make jokes about each other and that bonds all of us together.”

The twins are not afraid to be open and complain about each other, but they both agree that they will always have a connection that binds them for life.

“I wouldn’t know what my life would be like without my twin and I would never change our relationship,” Neda said.