If you have ever thought, “I wish I had a twin,” you’re in for a big surprise. Being a twin is not as glamorous as most people think. Imagine having to share everything with another person, and everyone assuming you are the same and being compared to them for every little thing just because you’re born on the same day.
When you happen to be a twin, many pet peeves come with it. Every twin knows the age-old questions like, “Can you read each others’ minds?” and “Are you ____’s twin?” These infuriating and dreaded queries are enough to push us off the deep end.
Another problem twins can relate to is the dreadful inaccuracies in movies and other media. Media like “Liv and Maddie,” “Gravity Falls,” and any Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies are the bane of our existence. These movies and shows portray twins are inseparable best friends despite their differences, which is drastically inaccurate. Growing up watching these shows put a false image in our head that this was the standard of being a twin. This constantly disappointed us when every day we realized it couldn’t be further from the truth, we felt as though we were a terrible sister for not having a “picture-perfect” relationship with our twin.
The most grueling part of being a twin is the constant comparison between you and said twin. This often happens with any sibling but amplifies if you’re born on the same day. Most people, especially parents, will expect you to be the same despite being two completely different people. You are forced to share the same room, gifts and clothes, and if you’re lucky there will be a color change between the two.
However, these expectations to be identical go further than just clothing and gifts, parents expect you to meet the same academic standards and enjoy the same activities.
“Why can’t you be more like ____?” is a phrase twins have heard many times throughout their lives, and a simple seven words that we seem to never be able to escape. The thought of inevitably being compared reduces the individuality of each twin, negatively affects their self-esteem and ruins their self-image. It makes it almost impossible to cherish and enjoy our personal accomplishments when it feels as though it’s never good enough.
A twin is something many people wish they had, due to misconstrued ideas that glorify this idea. Being a twin can be rewarding at times, yet we feel as though it’s imperative to squash the misunderstandings that commonly occur when introducing yourself and saying, “I’m a twin.”
