Ever wonder what's like to be a twin? Here are the most common questions/comments you hear as a twin, and our responses to them.
1. "What’s it like to be a twin?” or “Is it weird having a twin?”
Having a twin is literally just like having a sister or brother, except you’re the same age. It’s not any different. And we don’t know what it’s like to not have a twin, so how would we know if it’s weird or not? That would be like us asking, “Is it weird not having a twin?”
2. “You do not have a twin.”
You’d be surprised by how many people won’t believe you’re actually a twin. I’m not really sure why someone would lie about having one, but apparently people think it’s a common thing to lie about. Unless your other half is standing right there next to you, there’s always someone who won’t believe you're actually a twin. And if you’re fortunate enough to be fraternal twins and look nothing alike, people won’t believe you even if you are together. Usually, you have to really convince them or just give up and let them believe what they want.
3. “I’m so jealous of you.”
Once you tell someone you’re a twin they immediately tell you how cool it is and how jealous they are of you. Apparently everyone wants to be a twin. I’m not going to lie, it does make you feel a little cool having something everyone else wants but can’t have.
4. “Can you guys stand right next to each other?”
One of the first things people ask is to have you stand right next to each other so they can compare your faces. As you just stand there looking at them they stand there and point out all of your flaws and make you suddenly completely self-conscious about how “your head is bigger” or “you have smaller eyes." You don’t really say anything in return because how do you respond to that? “Thank you for pointing out my oddly proportioned features?" Usually, we just stand there and muster an uncomfortable laugh and pray they stop.
5. “Are you identical or fraternal?”
Do we look exactly alike? Then we’re probably identical. Do we look completely different? Then we’re probably fraternal. It’s as simple as that.
6. “You guys look exactly the same.”
Well, we are twins. Isn’t that kind of the point?7. "You guys look nothing alike.”
If you don’t hear the previous comment, then you most likely hear this one. People will either think you look identical and won’t be able to tell you apart, or they’ll think you look completely different.
8. “Do you guys have twin telepathy?”
This is usually followed by a question similar to, “If your twin gets hurt, does it hurt you, too?” No. This does not happen. There may be some occasional coincidences where you both have a headache or something but you don’t feel each other’s pain. Otherwise, how would you be able to fight them when you’re arguing about something? Also, we can’t read each other’s minds or send the other one messages telepathically. I wish we could, but we can’t.
9. “I feel bad inviting you but not your twin”
Don’t. It’s okay. We are two different people. We can be separated. We don’t have to do everything together. It’s okay for one of us to have different friends. It’s okay for us to do something without the other one. We will survive.
10. “I have a twin, too!”
I swear, when people find out you’re a twin suddenly everyone and their mom is a twin, too. You don’t realize how many people are twins until you mention yours. Then, you go through the typical, “How far apart are you?" “Who’s older?" and if you’re both lucky enough to be the younger twin, you sit there and talk about how all the things your older twin does to you. Or if you’re both older, you bond over having the “I’m still older than you” leverage (which, by the way, is actually annoying. Especially when they’re only a minute older).
