Identical twins, juniors Kaci and Nikki Duke may look the same but there are plenty of things to set them apart. 

The Duke girls are one minute apart with Nikki being the oldest and Kaci being the tallest. Even though they share many interests like band and some of the same TV shows, they are both very different. 

“Some people say they can tell us apart by our hair because Nikki has more red/darker toned hair, and some say that they can tell because of our personalities,” Kaci said. “Once people have known us for long enough they usually have no problem telling us apart.”

Anyone with older siblings knows the struggle of being called anything but their own name, but imagine people thinking two people are the same person.

“The worst part about being a twin for me is being called the wrong name all the time,” Nikki said. “The best part is knowing that I have a life-long best friend and someone I know will always be there for me whenever I need someone.” 

According to Kaci, being a twin can be frustrating at times, but she doesn’t know anything different. She likes having someone to have fun with and talk to all of the time. They have even switched places once to see if anyone would notice.

“Our freshman year we had the same eighth period English class. One day we switched seats and pretended to be the other to see if anyone would notice,” Nikki said. “Most of the students noticed, but the teacher never did.”

Even without switching places, the twins have encountered many opportunities where they were mistaken for the other.

“One of the funniest things that happened was at Westover,” Nikki said. “The director didn’t know that Kaci had a twin. He saw me in the hall and tried to talk to me about something for band. I just stood there confused because I had no clue what he was talking about.” 

Their parents can tell some of the baby pictures apart, but not all of them. 

“When we were little, we always dressed in the same outfits,” Kaci said. “Our hair was done the same way, our clothes matched, and our shoes matched.” 

 The twins have similar plans for after high school. Nikki plans on going to either Texas Tech University or Texas A&M University to study nursing, and Kaci plans on going to Texas Tech University to study Pre Med.

“Almost everyone we know has asked us the same questions: who is older, taller, smarter, nicer, more outgoing, and things like that. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve gotten used to answering them,” Kaci said.