Triplets start the world with high school

Created: 06/26/2022Updated: 06/26/2022 18:22

By: Victoria Strachwitz

After graduating from high school, they soon traveled through the USA together: the Lochham triplets (from left) Irma, Markus and Clara Schwilling also went their own way.

© Michael Schönwalder

Markus is responsible for the nonsense, Irma is more calm.

"I'm the midfield," says Clara Schwilling.

There is a clear division of roles in every family.

But this one is special.

The three siblings from Lochham are all 18 years old and all graduated from high school at the same time.

They are triplets.

Gräfelfing –

Strictly speaking, Clara and Irma are identical twins and Markus is their triplet brother.

For a long time, the girls looked very similar – confusingly similar.

But the girls only tricked their teachers once in fourth grade, they wore the same outfit, swapped places – and their religion teacher noticed it immediately, says Clara.

After that they never tried again.

“If I had had a twin brother, I would have swapped things over much more often,” says Markus.

In general, he says: "I would have liked a twin brother."

Clara is happy that she has a twin sister.

Even if she says that she often compares herself to her.

Most of the time, however, the three are happy that they are triplets.

"It's something special," says Irma.

In everyday life, they have never met other triplets.

In everyday life, however, they rarely meet each other.

“We all pursued different hobbies,” says Irma.

“I had my sport.” She, the eldest of the three, plays hockey – and also the cello.

Clara explains: "I read a lot." She used to play the piano, but today she often goes out with friends.

And the youngest, Markus, says: "I do strength training." He has been playing the violin since he was three years old and has also enjoyed taking photos since high school.

But meeting friends is his main activity.

The three saw the light of day just a few minutes apart.

They played together a lot and also liked to argue.

In elementary school, the three were in one class.

But with the transition to high school, the paths parted a little.

Markus moved to the music Pestalozzi High School in Munich, his sisters attended the nearby Gräfelfingen Kurt-Huber High School, but in different classes.

“I had a girlfriend who I got on well with, so I no longer needed contact with my sister,” says Clara.

It was good to go my own way.

"Otherwise it's just the three of you hanging around," she says.

In high school, however, it became apparent that the two sisters pursued similar interests.

Suddenly they were sitting together in courses again, learning together and asking each other questions.

After all, with a grade of 1.0, Irma was one of the best high school graduates from the Gräfelfingen Kurt-Huber-Gymnasium that year.

Her sister Clara also finished with a one before the decimal point (1.7).

"I don't think it's a bad thing that they got a better degree than I did," says Markus calmly.

His 2.2 is also impressive.

The paths of the triplets are not always the same.

They all celebrated their 18th birthday together, but each brought different friends to the party.

The three have had regular opportunities to try themselves out on their own in the past.

Each holiday they were allowed to take turns feeling like an only child.

Then one of them was allowed to visit the grandparents in Thuringia alone for a few weeks.

"It's nice when you get your full attention and everything revolves around you," says Clara.

The triplets want to continue these trips in the future.

But for the first time this summer things will be different than before: Clara and Irma will go there together for the first time.

"Let's see how it goes there," says Clara.

How things will continue for the triplets after the summer is not yet clear to everyone.

"I don't even know what Markus wants to do," says Irma.

And indeed: Markus wants to study in the future, but has no concrete plan yet.

Clara wants to study medicine, “my sister and I are a bit similar there”.

She already has firm ideas about how she wants to get a place at university.

Irma, on the other hand, wants to study in the United States for a semester before dedicating herself to medicine.

Before visits to grandparents or studies separate the triplets, they celebrate their high school graduation with a big trip.

For three weeks they will explore America together.

So they discover the world together – each in their own way.