What It’s Really Like to Be a Twin
My twin sister and I were born about three months premature. The doctors told my parents that we would be lucky if we did not have long lasting problems. Luckily, we did not. We had to stay at the hospital for a few extra months, but the team of doctors and nurses helped us get healthy.
My parents were not expecting to have twins, so they had a lot to learn in the beginning. Being a twin requires buying double of everything at the same time. Double the amount of clothes, double the amount of food and double the attention.
When my sister and I were younger, my mom would dress us in matching outfits. We were pretty much inseparable. When you spend so many years with your sister you become best friends. Some people might ask, how is that different than a normal sibling relationship? It’s different because we are the same age. We go through all of the school stages at the same time, we graduated high school together, we went to the same college and we have the same friends. Going through so much of my life with my twin makes our relationship even stronger.
In third grade, when my sister and I were only 10 years old, our parents moved cities. Before we moved, my twin and I had different friends. Sure, we still hung out, but we had our own crews, too. When we moved schools, everything changed. It was hard moving after living in one city for 10 years. My sister and I became closer because we didn’t know anybody at the new school. We were grateful to have each other and it deepened our friendship. From then on, my sister and I have had the same friends and our relationship has remained an important part of my life.
Nonetheless, my twin sister and I still fight and get frustrated with each other just like other siblings do. Even though we have many similarities, we also have our differences. My twin enjoys art, she is a business major, and she is an animal lover. I love music, I enjoy writing and reading, I am a journalism major and I love to cook.
The fact is, we don’t agree on everything, because we are different people. It’s a concept not everyone understands about twins. As twins, you get grouped together. People say the “Cash twins” all the time, or “Look, it’s the twins!” They don’t always take the time to learn about us as individuals, which can be annoying.
The weird thing is that even though we are fraternal, not identical twins, and we don’t look exactly like, people still confuse us. I have straight brown hair, while my twin has curly red hair. I am shorter, and my face is more round, while my sister is tall and has a narrow face. But still, people sometimes can’t tell us apart, or treat us like a unit, instead of individuals.
Being a twin is part of my identity. It’s also just fascinating to me—the different dynamics between twins. At my high school, I knew at least four sets of twins. Some were so close they attended the same college, others weren’t really weren’t as close. I’m so interested in the bonds twins form, I plan to go to the Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio to meet other twins. (Yes, that’s a real thing!)
My twin is my best friend. We understand each other on a deeper level than many of my other friendships. No matter what happens in life, I know that she will always be there for me; we have our own twin support system. We may be different from each other, and from other siblings, but I can’t imagine my life without her. So overall, what is it like to be a twin? It’s awesome!
As a recent college graduate, Marie Cash has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Northern Colorado. She enjoys reading, writing and baking new recipes for her food blog.You can follow her @MClaireC13.
(Image via)
