Among the nameless crowds that wander the campus, identical twins Shemia and Sheme’re Jones definitely stand out. While most students may not know them personally, many have noticed the twins at one point or another, or are at least aware of their existence. The main reason that the girls are so well-known on campus is that they are physically indistinguishable and always together.

Walking into their room is like walking into a room of mirrors. Their beds are made exactly the same way, each with an identical leopard-print comforter folded over at the same corner at the exact same angle. On the wall above each bed, there are two matching portraits of a young girl. In both portraits, the girl is wearing the same outfit, smiling with the same degree of contentment, and posed exactly the same way. While the portraits seem to be copies of one another, they are actually pictures of two different girls: Shemia and Sheme’re.

Since birth, Shemia (Shah-MEE-ah) and Sheme’re (Shah-MEER) have shared everything from clothing to secrets, friends to interests. Today, they are both Thurgood Marshall College sophomores at UCSD and are both psychology majors. They take all the same classes, have all the same friends and both have the same job. The most noticeable aspect about the twins, however, is the way they dress. Every day, the girls wear perfectly matching outfits, including their pants, shirts and hair accessories. For those who do not know them well, Shemia and Sheme’re are impossible to tell apart.

The twins claim that their mother began dressing them alike when they were babies, and once they became old enough to dress themselves, it only seemed natural to continue dressing in the same way. They admitted that it is difficult and uncomfortable for them to dress differently from one another.

“I feel weird when we’re not dressed alike,” Shemia said. Due to the twins’ resemblance, matching outfits and inseparability, they attract a great deal of attention every day, and are possibly the most recognizable women on campus. Although they are fully aware of their popularity, they claim that they do not dress alike for the attention it brings. “We do it because we want to. It’s who we are,” Sheme’re said.

Being physically identical, however, is only a small part of the twins’ alikeness. They are also psychologically similar, sharing the same passions, favorites, struggles and aspirations.

Both love Whitney Houston, the color red and ice cream. They both dislike writing and struggle with the same concepts in mathematics. They both want to get married one day and have the same number of children of the same gender. They both hope to have a singing career in the future, or else go into psychology.

“Neither of us is going to be more successful than the other because we are going to do all the same things,” Shemia said.

Listening to the twins talk is like listening to one person talking. Shemia will often make a statement that Sheme’re will conclude by saying, “You know what I’m saying?” They seem to have an internal connection that allows them to understand each other in the same way one understands his or herself. They say that the best thing about being twins is that “it’s like having a built-in best friend.

“We never experienced loneliness until we started working different shifts,” Shemia said.

While the women love being twins, their similarities have caused some problems in their lives. For example, because both have the same taste in men, they are often attracted to the same guy.

“Guys get really excited when we like them,” Shemia said. “They’re like, ‘Wow! Twins!’”

“But then they calm down,” Sheme’re concluded with a laugh, as they have no intentions of fulfilling any man’s twin fantasy.

Still, the twins never let men get in the way of their relationship. If a particular guy happens to prefer one twin over the other, she will not go on a date with him unless her sister has a date that night too.

“I’m not going to go out and just be like, ‘See ya,’ to my sister,” Shemia said. Last quarter Shemia was sick and missed quite a bit of class. It was difficult for Sheme’re to go to class without her because she was so worried and did not want her sister to fall behind.

“I did her homework for her, and I don’t do that!” Sheme’re exclaimed.

The twins say that they argue rarely and grow closer and closer as they get older. And the fact that many twins separate at some point in life is almost unfathomable to them. In the future, they plan to live very close to one another, possibly in different houses on the same estate. While Shemia and Sheme’re are not one person, they are too connected to be considered two entirely different people.

“I don’t think we ever were individuals,” Shemia said, “but we’re not one person.”

“We’re just two people very much alike,” the girls said in unison.