Two sisters, one strong bond

“I think the best thing about having my sister on campus is being able to talk to her,” said senior Aleijah Brewster.

The bond between the two siblings is strong. Her younger sister Khalia said, “You know that they will always be there for you and that you can go to them whenever you would please.”

The sisters are close and they even share a class, Spanish 2, so it’s hard to hide the fact that they are related.

That closeness can sometimes be a problem. “When we get into argument and I have to see her at school, it makes me very much irritated and sometimes I just want to be with my friends ALONE,” said Khalia.

While they are often in agreement, they aren’t always on the same wavelength. “The worst thing about sharing a school with her would have to be the fact that she wants to go straight home after school when I would want to stay at school,” Aleijah said.

Armijo isn’t the first campus they’ve shared over the years. They’ve been at both Crescent Elementary and Crystal Middle School together and probably will both go to UC Davis, although Khalia is not sure if that is her destination. “It would help because I would already know someone there but it’s not required. You know?” she said. Khalia is actually considering going to a community college first and may decide to attend UC Berkeley or UCLA to study dermatology.

The sisters were both affected by COVID, but at different levels. For Aleijah, it was mostly an inconvenience “only because I wasn’t able to go to the school dances and hang out with friends,” she said.

“COVID had affected me mentally and physically,” said Khalia. “What I mean by that is my grades weren’t as great as I wanted them to be and mentally I was so drained… I’m glad to be back on campus. It has made me appreciate the time at school even though I already did.”

Both girls enjoy playing video games. Two of Khalia’s favorites are Minecraft and The Sims4. While she also likes to do make-up and dress up, Aleijah prefers to enjoy something good on Netflix.

Khalia likes to be involved and is part of the Art Club, the International Club, the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). Aleijah, on the other hand, is not currently involved in any sports or club, “but I am interested in swimming, so I might give that a try,” she said.

In the end, there’s one undeniable truth about the relationship between the Brewster sisters, and Khalia summed it up. “I would like to say that I love my sister dearly,” she said. “That’s all.”