The Siblings of Comp Sci High
“Siblings are a huge part of your life; going to the same school only adds more memories to be made. Siblings by chance, friends by choice.”
Choosing your high school is such a surreal experience. Your choice of school ultimately sets you up for how your life could go. Those 4 years from 9th to 12th grade could either make or break you based on your environment and friends. We can honestly say we are glad we chose Comp Sci High. We wouldn’t want our high school experience going any other way. Being able to add a sibling to the journey has made it different and interesting.
Before we go further, here’s a question: guess how many siblings have been at Comp Sci High. Is it less than 50 or more? We’ll tell you the answer at the end of this piece.
Being sisters ourselves, it's fun and a challenge at the same time. You have a partner to go to school with, complain with, and see in the halls. It makes the experience of school 10 times greater. It can be annoying at times because you are with them 24/7, and you have to always deal with the comparison, whether it’s from parents or the community around you. Having people tell you they mistook your sister for you when you feel like you look nothing like your sibling.
We interviewed our siblings along with other siblings in the school to get their perspective about what this experience is like, and most of the data was very mixed. We even interviewed Ms. Kniesh for an Ops perspective, as someone who looks at our enrollment. Ms. Kniesh works with the operations teams and she manages the enrollment system. Kniesh mentioned how she feels excited when she sees siblings in the pool because it fills the enrollment pool faster.
Kniesh spoke about how when she meets the siblings, she knows that no two siblings are alike. Another thing she observed is that even though a sibling is already in the school, the new addition to the community still often comes to the open house. She finds that very interesting. When asked why she came to an open house, Jessica - Jen’s sister mentioned she “just wanted to come to the open house and see the school”. Demi – Omolola’s brother – responded that “he wanted to see the school, because navigating it for the first time may be complicated.” Omolola mentioned how it was so that she could show him the teachers and have his perspective on the school.
Omolola is in 12th grade and Demi is in 9th, and they both expressed that they are close and Demi enjoys having a sibling who knows the backends and everything about the school. Omolola says: “I feel like they hold me back when it comes to privileges, it's fine having them there,” while Demi says “It's good, and with her being in a higher grade there is an advantage, I can ask for help.” They both believe they do not get treated any differently from each other. “Teachers tend to compare how we are and say we are similar and quiet.”
I, Djenabou, am in 12th grade and my sister Hawa is in 10th grade. Hawa mentions she doesn't like having a sibling in the same school at all, while I don’t mind. We are very close but don’t have that connection at school, although we act the same as we do at home. “I get treated differently with a sister in the school, I get in trouble and all teachers do is tell my sister,” says Hawa. I feel the same, I am treated differently too as I “should be a role model” to her, so my decisions get judged—comparisons left and right, and how we are complete opposites. To us though “this is no different,” as we went to the same schools all our lives.
And then there’s me, Maty, in the 12th grade, and Fatma who's in the 10th grade. Fatma expresses how it’s been an okay experience: “Going to the same school as my sibling is not that bad, just having a travel buddy to go to school with.” As for me, I’d say that I’m always around her, but I guess that's what siblings are for, not a bad experience though sometimes it comes in handy.”
Back to Ms. Kniesh's point, not every two siblings are the same, so we asked the question: Are you different outside of school? For me, I’d say we are total opposites. I would say I'm an extrovert and my sister is an introvert.
Even though most kids spend most of their day-to-day life in school, it’s two different lifestyles. In school we don't talk to each other much compared to home where we do. I feel like I don't interact with my sister, but when I am home it's different. I feel like a big factor that comes into play is that we are not in the same grade, and there’s no chance to interact, even if we pass each other we don't speak, and the most that I’ll do is side-eye. I do come up to her if I have something to say though. Like Djenabou and her sister, I also went to the same school as my sister, however, she did not want to do it again. From the perspective of most of the little sisters, the reasoning behind that is that when it comes to another sister in the school, people tend to detach from the fact they are their own person. Living in the shadows of your sibling can be frustrating.
The next interview was with the Fofana’s: Jaria and Humu, who are in 12th grade, and Aisha, who is in 10th. They, like most siblings, are very close. While Jaria and Humu see each other in the halls all the time, Aisha is not seen as much. “I like seeing their ugly faces every day; it's different cause I don’t see Aisha as much”, says Humu. Being with siblings is an “okay experience; I see them all the time, I'm not branching out on my own, though,” says Aisha. Jaria says: “I like it, because you're not alone, but nothing different because I have been with them all my life”. For this set of siblings, school brings them closer together despite being on opposite sides of the halls. “In school both of them open up more and I see their personalities more, at home I'm just in my room,” says Jaria. They all have their own lives outside of school which brings a divide. When it comes to comparisons, Jaria and Humu feel it more.
Our last interviewees were Jen, who is in 12th grade, and Jessica who is in 9th grade. They look more like twins than siblings. You know how there is a first time for everything? In Jen and Jessica's case this is their first time going to school together. They feel neutral about being at the same school because they don’t talk as much; saying hi to each other is the most that they do. In and out of school they see each other the same as they “still have that bond.” The comparison they get the most of goes as far as they are literally twins in the face. Being treated differently they don’t get that much of a different talk. Jen says “knows me for her” and Jes say “mistakes me for her”.
The wide range of different responses really shows the different dynamics of siblings that lie in our walls. The experience of sharing a school with your siblings is based on the relationship you guys have. Sharing a school with your sibling can go so many different ways. Siblings are a huge part of your life; going to the same school only adds more memories to be made. Siblings by chance, friends by choice.
We hope you have kept your guess in your head while reading. Over the past 6 years (2018) since the school first opened its doors, there have been a total of 65 siblings — and many more to go — in the history of Comp Sci High.