So I have a twin brother named Dustin. We were born on the same day and everything. Whenever someone finds out I have a twin it often goes something like this-
Them: “Wow I didn’t know you had a twin!?”
Me: “Yep I have a twin brother,” and then very often the next question they ask is the stupidest question in the world but soooo many people ask me this!
Them: “Are you identical?”
Gfahsfishkjfasj ksnfoka!!! NO! WE ARE NOT IDENTICAL! It is literally impossible for boy/girl twins to be identical! Do you even understand the meaning of the word identical?
I usually really politely explain this and am often surprised at how some people are so shocked to learn that boy/girl twins obviously can’t be identical. I just can’t believe how many people have asked me that, and my parents have gotten asked this a bunch of times too when they tell people about us, but seriously how can so many people not understand this? So now you can count yourself among the not so stupid people who understand that boy/girl twins are NEVER identical.
But anyway another question I get asked a lot is, “What’s it like being a twin?” so I thought I’d share that with you.
Life as a twin really isn’t all that different from life with siblings in general. I think maybe this is probably especially true in the case of boy/girl twins since you’re just more different in that way so probably you get lumped together less. I’m not really sure if that’s true. I also think that being part of a really big family makes life as twins less intensely different since you have other siblings too and it’s kinda the same but you’re just closer in age. That being said I do still think twins is a pretty special relationship and I’m very close with Dustin :3
One thing that my mom always says is great about twins is that you never need to teach them to share like most other kids we are just born knowing that sharing is caring and all that good stuff. For instance, when we were babies I did not eat. I would drink like half of my bottles and then Dustin would drink both his bottle and the other half of my bottle. See sharing! Though also I was a failure to thrive baby and so not eating as a baby combined with growing up eating RamEon everyday is probably another reason why I’m only five feet tall, but Dustin, he’s a perfectly normal height.
Another thing about being twins is that you can make up for each other’s short comings. For instance, when I was a small child, I didn’t know how to open doors. When I wanted to leave a room, I would simply head for the door and Dustin would see this and immediately stop whatever he was doing and open the door for me. However, I had an impeccable vocabulary and speaking skills for a small child, where as when Dustin spoke it sounded like some sort of alien goopy poop gibberish. I was the only one who could understand what Dustin was saying so I was his translator and he was my door man. It was a perfect system of co-dependence. We of course grew out of this and I learned how to open doors and he can speak English… mostly. We, however, still have very different talents and I am especially grateful to be able to use him for his technological wizardry since I am such an old lady who hardly knows how to use a computer.
Another thing about being a twin is that you have someone to show up with you to a lot of awkward school events. This was literally one of the best things ever because even if I knew an event would be fun when I got there, I still always had a horrible feeling of anxiety before going and I never wanted to show up alone. If you’ve read my bio, you’ll know I am not a social person. I do often enjoy myself at social things, but I feel so much stress about going to them and not knowing if they will be fun and then even when they are fun, I still have a huge sense of relief when I go home. In these instances, it really helps to have a twin accompany you so if it sucks at the very least you have each other to hangout with. Also Dustin is even more of an introvert than I am so often he ends up being the one who wants to leave or is especially unwilling to go and so if I decide I’m done with whatever we are doing then I just give in when he asks me if we can leave yet and so then I have a perfect excuse to go home.
There is so much more I could say about being a twin. I guess it is kinda different from having just a sibling, like I can’t imagine what it’d be like if Dustin and I were just siblings and not twins. But also growing up is so hard. For instance, we literally went to the same school all the way through our sophomore year of college (except in 2nd grade), but now my brother is in the air force and it’s the first time in our lives not only not living in the same house but we don’t even live in the same state. It’s so strange for me and we still keep in touch but it’s just different. I really appreciate and miss having him around all the time.
Wow that got way too sappy. Anyway, I guess the moral this time is that boy/girl twins aren’t identical so don’t ask. Also being a twin has a lot of perks and you all should be jealous, like why open your own doors when someone else could do it for you?