Having a sibling is like having a best friend you will have for life. You grew up with them, know everything about them and, if you’re like me, tell them everything. Even all the TMI stuff they wish you didn’t mention. Being a twin is a little different than just having an older brother or younger sister. You are weirdly connected to them because, hey, remember that you were in the same womb? Womb mates!
When we were little, my twin sister and I would be dressed head to toe in coordinating outfits with the same bowl haircut (thanks mom for the child abuse). We were known as the “girls with the same face,” a phrase my mom continues to repeat to strangers who don’t ask. As we got older and started middle school, we continuously got on each other’s nerves. I do admit, I was a bully to my sister. We would scream and yell at each other from across our rooms. All this fighting was probably because we were constantly around each other, and the hormones were still being sorted out in our bodies, making us the typical crazy, moody teenage girls (I’m sure my parents loved putting up with two snotty teenage girls).
We had the same friend group all throughout middle school and high school, had some of the same classes, and played the same sport. We were literally never apart. When someone mentioned me, they usually mentioned her, too. Our name was “SavannahandLilly,” one fast, short sentence. We were and still are very close; asking any weird question about Lilly and I can answer it. I probably know more about her than she does, like, say, her social security number. Is it true that I knew her social before she even did? Yes, yes it is (And Lilly was lazy and would call me to ask me what it was when she needed it). The weird thing is the time we spent together was never too much time. I always considered my sister, especially as I grew up, my favorite and best person to talk to.
Then came our freshman year of college. I chose to go to the University of Georgia and she chose to go to the University of South Carolina, a three-hour drive apart. Neither of us had a car our freshman year, so we saw each other on holidays and on rare occasions we took the bus to see each other. I was not used to being so far away from her; I could no longer just run into her room (usually unannounced) if I wanted to talk to her. Now that we are almost seniors in college, we have both gotten used to the distance, and visit each other when we can.
It’s hard when you grow up with someone, in the same grade, with the same friends and then go to college where you are forced to be your own person. What was even weirder is that people no longer knew me as one of the “Steele twins.” I was just Savannah, with no Lilly. Being away from my sister has made me grow more as a person. I am no longer able to lean on her as much as I did in high school. I continue to call her at least once a day, to usually talk about nothing, but I do different things that interest me. The best thing is, I know she is always going to be there whenever I need to complain about teachers or talk about how homesick I am. She knows me better than anyone else, and I will always be thankful that I am her twin sister.
