Senior Amitoj Singh and sophomore Arjit Singh share a multitude of activities — tennis, ASB, KidWorks – and that’s not even mentioning the bloodline they share. We sat down to chat with them about their sibling dynamic at school and home. 

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Q: What is it like participating in the same activities with each other as brothers?

Arjit: I see how Amitoj is able to say whatever he wants in the crowd—starting chants—and then I’m like, “Oh, I can do the same thing.” Having an older brother, in that case, you have someone to look up to in these activities: how it’s supposed to be done, what to do to be good at and that stuff.

Amitoj: It’s always fun to have a support system almost, and we kind of make each other better. Not only just in ASB and tennis but even just regularly in school, I think we’re always just pushing each other to be better.

Q: Has being in all these activities together affected your relationship at home?

Arjit: Well, after we have fun at tennis, sometimes we get a bit too competitive. So after I beat Amitoj, sometimes Amitoj will just stop talking to me at home, to be honest. 

Amitoj: Bro, hold up, let me — bro, that is completely opposite, literally.

Arjit: The last times we’ve played I’ve always won, though.

Amitoj: Every time I beat this man in tennis, he doesn’t talk to me on the car ride home. He is dead silent, and I’m just there like—.

Arjit: That is not true. That is not true.

Amitoj: And this guy, literally every time I beat him, he’s like, “Amitoj, why are you so toxic?”And then he just doesn’t talk to me. 

Q: What do you love most about your brother?

Amitoj: I guess, the thing I love about Arjit the most is that he’ll always be by my side, and I can always rely on him. Whenever I need something, you know? Whether that’s in school, I need something from him or just having my back whenever I’m doing something important or feeling a little bit discouraged, I know Arjit’s always gonna be there in my corner and always supporting me. 

Arjit: I feel like he’s a pretty good role model for me. For me, I’m able to follow some of the activities he’s doing and look up to him to see, “Oh, how is he trying to do this?” And then “How should I try to go about it?”

Q: Does anybody mix the two of you up, and how often does that happen?

Arjit: It’s definitely happened a lot for me. It mostly happens with seniors or juniors calling me Amitoj. There hasn’t been a case where a sophomore has called me Amitoj. 

Amitoj: Yeah, I think it’s pretty funny whenever that happens. Like, I’ve gotten called Arjit by a few sophomores here and there, and I always just go along with them and pretend like I’m Arjit, and then I’ll say some random stuff to them so that Arjit looks bad. You know, I just sabotage Arjit, and I say some dumb stuff like, “I really like your socks.’ Or ‘I like your shoes.” Just weird stuff that Arjit would never say to them, you know?

Arjit: Bro, you actually have not told me this, bro. 

Amitoj: Yeah I haven’t, but like I actually do. The other day, I was just walking up the stairs to go to English, and this dude called me Arjit, and I was like, “Oh, hey babe.”

Arjit: Oh, no.

Q: Who’s the better ‘Singh’er? 

Amitoj: Lowkey, Arjit can sing. 

Arjit: I will not be singing on this recording, but I am definitely better than Amitoj. 

Amitoj: Yeah, I go off tune and off beat. It’s pretty bad.

Arjit: The only thing that Amitoj can sing better than me is Drake. If there’s Drake, he will sing like his life 

depends on it. I think it’s concerning honestly. 

Q: How would you describe the legacy that you want to create collectively as two brothers on Portola High’s campus?

Amitoj: The legacy we want to create as a whole is to be very helpful to each other and the people around us. At the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is just make people smile and feel that positive energy that we give off. 

Arjit: Something I want to add is that what we try doing for ASB or when we’re at tennis hyping people up, we just want everyone around us to be happy. When we do the ASB cart thing or pass out necklaces, technically we don’t have to pass out necklaces. We could just publicize it, but we want everyone to get together and be happy.