My brother and I are as close as two siblings can be. Whether it's political rants at 1 in the morning or late night Taco Bell runs, we can constantly be found together. Since my brother is less than two years younger than me, we were often mistaken for twins when we were very young. Now, however, we're lucky if any strangers assume we're related. My not-so-little brother now stands at almost one and a half feet taller than me, and only our closest relatives see any likeness in our features. We really look nothing alike, and that has gotten us a whole host of strange questions and comments that siblings who are only alike at heart can understand.

People definitely question if we're actually blood-related.

"Are you step siblings?" "Do you have the same dad?" "Are you sure?" No, yes, and yes. We've also heard enough infamous mailman jokes. We both actually resemble both of our parents a lot, just different traits. I'm not exactly sure why people feel the need to ask these intrusive questions, but it does make for some fun opportunities to tease people. My brother and I will always remember the time that we made one of my classmates seriously uncomfortable after her questioning when we convinced her that I was adopted. She'll never ask us anything ever again!

People think that we're dating.

Seriously. This happens so often. It's totally disgusting, but people assume that we're boyfriend and girlfriend since we don't resemble each other. Waiters, cashiers, even just strangers passing by often comment on our perceived relationship. I'd really rather not talk about it.

Relatives insist that we look alike.

They always pick some obscure feature, like our noses, and insist that it makes us look alike. It's some kind of desperate effort to make up a familial resemblance, I suppose. We appreciate the sentiment, but we both own mirrors. After almost 18 years of being siblings, we know that we look nothing alike.

We might not look alike, but we act alike.

I wish I had a dollar for every time that someone said, "You're like the female version of your brother!" From a picture, we are not similar in any way, but if you spend a few minutes with us, there's no denying that we're related. We talk like each other, we have the same mannerisms, the same odd sense of humor, and we always know what the other is thinking. We often just communicate with just a series of looks that nobody else understands and have an odd sense of telepathy. We might not look alike on the outside, but our personalities are in sync!