“Are you two related?” the man looks at my sister and I as we pause briefly, exchanging knowing glances before answering his all too familiar question. “No, we’re not related at all,” Shannon jokes light heartedly. “We’re twins,” I say, as we smile and laugh, unintentionally in unison. “Well, which one of you is the nice twin and which one of you is the evil twin?”
Growing up an identical twin, I experience interactions like this one almost on the daily. In my lifetime, I must confess, I’ve said “hi” back to hundreds of people I’ve never actually met, been complimented on haircuts I never got, made awkward small talk with people I don’t know, and been called “Shannon” more times than I can count. So many people have told me things like, “Wow, being a twin must be so cool,” and “I wish I had two of me. It must be the best!” Call me biased, but it’s true. Being an identical twin is wonderful in so many ways; you have a built in best friend, sister, supporter, someone to always laugh at your jokes, and double the wardrobe. Over the years, you also get used to answering certain questions all the time.
“How do I tell you both apart?”
I think we both look pretty different, but I’ve been told we look alike so many times I suppose there must be some truth to that. Here’s the way to tell: When neither of us is paying attention, say one of our names and whoever turns their head first is that twin. If we both turn our heads, good luck.
“Do you like the same things?”
We definitely do like a lot of the same things, mostly because of all the time we’ve spent together. We both love horses, Pad Thai, and rainy days. But, we also have very different passions, friends, and life goals.
“Who is the nice twin? Who is the evil twin?”
The twin that answers the quickest gets to choose. It’s kind of an unspoken rule.
“Are you two telepathic?”
Pretty much. I mean, we only spent nine months in the womb together as well as the rest of our childhood, so we can read each other like books.
“What’s the biggest difference between the two of you?”
Our names.
“If she gets hurt, do you feel it?”
No, but I care about her so much that of course any pain she feels will be felt by me too.
“Do you share clothes?”
Heck yes we do. Shannon’s home without me for the summer, and in every photo I’ve seen of her since, she’s been wearing my clothes. When we were younger though, sharing clothes was more of a struggle and we didn’t share so willingly. I remember offering to pay her $5 just to wear a pair of her jeans one day. She said no.
“Do you two always get along?”
No. This question always cracks me up. We’ve spent too many years perfecting how to press each other’s buttons to get along 24/7.
“You go to the same college. Are you roommates?”
No. I think we’d drive each other crazy. One side of the room would be a complete explosion of stuff while the other side would be organized and decently clean. I won’t say whose side would be whose though.
“Do you ever play tricks on people or switch classes?”
Actually, we’ve rarely purposely played tricks on people. It just happens on accident all the time. There have been quite a few people who have thought we were the same person for a whole year! As far as switching classes goes, Shannon’s one of those students that professors really like to call on, so I think I’ll have to pass.
Now that you have more insight on what it’s like to be an identical twin, here are a few of my favorite twin stories.
I used to work at a bagel shop on my college campus, and one morning I called in sick with the flu. I was in bed and didn’t want to move, but the thought of eating a bagel with cream cheese sounded like the best thing in the world. I called Shannon, and after a little bit of convincing, she agreed to bring me a bagel. Twenty minutes later, she showed up at my door, bagel in hand and a half hilarious/half guilty look on her face. With laughter in her voice she said, “I messed up big time,” and then went on to explain that the worker at the bagel shop greeted her with, “Hi Kristina,” and proceeded to write my name down for the order. Shannon felt like she was in too deep already to correct her, so she went along with it. When she got to the register, my manager rang her up. Shannon tried to discreetly pay for the bagel and leave, but before she could, my manager said, “Didn’t you call in sick this morning?” Without hesitation, Shannon responded, “Yeah, it’s been a long day,” and quickly fled the scene. Long story short, I almost lost my job after that, and I had a lot to explain to my manager.
A few years back, Shannon and I worked with a therapeutic horsemanship program. We took turns standing in the arena while children were led around on horseback, and made sure that they were kept safe. On a particularly hot day, Shannon came to me during a break and told me that it was my turn in the arena. It wasn’t normal for her to switch with me so quickly, but I didn’t think anything of it. As I took my place in the middle of the arena, hatless and prepared to ward off a sunburn, one of the sweet volunteers came to me with a hot pink sun hat in hand. Now, this wasn’t just any sun hat; this was the kind that looks like a tent for your head, with draping material on every side and lacking just enough fabric to allow its wearer to see what’s in front of them. “Here’s the sun hat I told you I’d get for you, honey. I wouldn’t want to see you get sunburned.” Now, no one has ever taught me the art of turning down a sun hat as lovely as this one, so I sucked it up and put it on. Let me tell you, the humiliation was too real, and I think that even the horses felt bad. I turned my head, sun hat flowing in the wind, just in time to see Shannon zoom in with her phone and take a picture.
Being an identical twin comes with so many hilarious and worthwhile moments, and the relationship I get to share with my twin sister is something I wouldn't trade for the world.
