Growing up with a twin definitely has its perks: you have a built-in best friend right from the beginning, someone to share clothes (and makeup) with, and someone you know you can tell anything to.
Yet while there’s a ton of positives to being a twin, you definitely hear the same questions. Over and over again. At twenty years old, I’ve become used to hearing these questions by now—it just doesn’t change the fact that I’ve answered them a thousand times. And the questions they ask usually go a little something like this.
1. Are you twins?
First, it’s the inevitable starter question. Maybe you and your twin are identical and look exactly alike and someone could immediately tell you two were twins right away. Or maybe you and your twin are fraternal and look relatively similar, but there are still noticeable differences. Regardless of whether or not you’re fraternal or identical, you definitely hear this question. And it’s typically the first question to the series of questions to follow.
2. Are you fraternal or identical?
As I said before, it might be easy to tell if you and your twin are fraternal or identical, but many people are still want to know. After all, a lot of people are often fascinated by twins for whatever reason, but again, if you’re a twin, you’re used to this routine by now.
3. Who’s older?
Now, here comes the questions about who was born first and followed by how much older the other twin is. As the older twin, I’m usually asked questions about whether or not I use being older to my advantage, but sometimes people don’t care to ask those types of questions. All I know for sure is people are usually surprised when I share how much older I am, as it really isn’t a big difference at all.
4. Can you feel when your twin is in pain?
Once all the basics are covered, the more interesting questions start to come into play. Obviously, not everyone asks these questions, but there’s definitely a handful of people that do. And sometimes it never ceases to amaze me that some people actually believe this stuff.
While I don’t feel when my twin is in pain, I certainly start to cry whenever she starts to cry—so maybe that’s kind of the same thing? Interpret that as you wish!
5. Have you ever dressed up as each other and switched places?
Whenever this question is asked, it’s evident the person asking is excited to see if this has ever been done before. After all, they definitely think it could be easily pulled off, yet that isn’t the case. As for my twin sister and I, we may look alike, but I know we don’t look that much alike.
In fact, more often than not, I think we look completely different from one another so I know we could never pull that off.
6. Hey, *insert twin’s name here!*
The number of times I’ve walked by someone and they thought I was my twin sister is truly a pretty high amount. If we’re just quickly passing by one another, then chances are, I’ve just pretended I was my sister and continued on my way. But if we’re having a conversation and it happens, I’ll definitely correct you and no, I’m definitely not offended that you mixed us up! I’m used to it!
7. Aw, you guys are wearing the same color! You match!
My personal biggest pet peeve has to be this statement. Yes, we’re both wearing leggings and a white colored t-shirt, but how is it adorable?! So many girls on campus are wearing the exact same thing, but because we’re twins, it just has to be pointed out. And no, we didn’t intentionally wear the same thing.
8. How can you tell you and your twin apart?
This is one of my personal favorite questions because now you're finally able to point out the differences between you and your twin. Not only that, but it's even better when the person can actually start to see the difference and they get even better at telling us apart.
While this is only a handful (of the many) things I hear over and over again as a twin, it’s certainly the most common ones. It does get old answering the same questions over and over again, but I truly wouldn’t change it for the world. If someone ever asks me if I like being a twin (which could be added as number nine on this list) I can easily say yes. Because I’m lucky enough to call my twin sister my best friend and I truly don’t know who I’d be without her.
