The Triplets of DHS
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“Not only am I the best looking, going to the best college, and the most athletic out of the three of us, but I was this year’s Homecoming King, and soon to be Prom King. Vote for me!” Not the answer I was expecting from senior Graham Karlan when asked, “What’s it like to be a triplet?”
Graham, Hayley, and Sarah Karlan are the only set of triplets at Darien High School. Born by C-section on July 10, 1990, Graham is the oldest of the trio weighing in at 4 pounds, 2 ounces, next was Sarah at 5 pounds, followed by Hayley at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. “Me, being the oldest, proves that Hayley and Sarah live in my shadow,” acknowledges Graham overconfidently.
Surprisingly enough, many people don’t notice a resemblance between the three siblings. Sarah has curly dark brown hair while Hayley has straighter dark blond hair. Graham stands much taller than his two petite sisters, but shares the same dark brown hair with Sarah. Other than looks, what else sets these three apart? “I like all kinds of music,” Sarah said. “Yeah, you don’t have one specific genre you listen to,” agrees close friend DHS senior Carly Dudzik, who refers to herself the “long lost quadruplet.” (for more on Carly click here)
“Hayley loves Bach, classical symphonies and jazz,” jokes Sarah. As for Graham, the girls say he listens to a lot of classic rock and rap. But he informs me of quite the contrary, “mostly Beethoven,” he replies.
In addition to their different tastes in music, the triplets have a variety of activities they participate in. Sarah and Hayley run track, while Graham is a member of the DHS squash and varsity tennis team. Furthermore, Hayley plays viola in the Norwalk Orchestra, and Graham is the president of Safe Rides. There’s no doubt these three lead busy lives!
Obviously everyone wants to know, what are some Karlan triplet secrets? “Hayley is prohibited to sit in the front seat. She always has to sit in the backseat of the car no matter what. If she’s in the front seat, I will pick her up myself and move her.” Sarah admits that sharing a room with Hayley was the worst 12 years of her life. “I like to stay up late, and Hayley goes to bed at nine.” Hayley shakes her head, “That’s not true!” But the girls agree on one thing, “Graham gets away with everything,” divulges Hayley, “we share one car, and so far we’ve had two accidents…both with Graham in the driver’s seat.”
The Karlan’s Five Worst Things About Being A Triplet:
- Sharing a car
- Being overshadowed
- You’re a slave within the family
- You get the blame
- Report card day
So what does the future hold for the Karlan clan? Graham was recruited to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee for tennis; Sarah will be majoring in science at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and Hayley will most likely study English at Vanderbilt in Nashville. But there’s one more future plan Graham shares with us. “Heather [Hanson], my girlfriend will become a Karlan. Obviously we’re getting married, so everyone in my family better get used to the idea.”
As the Karlan triplets look forward to bright futures, they have a big change ahead of them: college will be the first time the trio has ever lived apart, and for the first time, they won’t be known as “the triplets.” “I probably won’t miss them,” confesses Graham, but we know he doesn’t really mean that sentiment. The Karlan trio will forever be known in Darien as “the triplets.”
Find out how many set of twins are in your grade. Check out “Neirad's Seeing Double”