Welcome back!
In my last article, I shared a bit about what my first month at ASU was like and the difficulties along with it. However, I failed to mention a critical detail about me. You see, what most people don't know about me is that I have a fraternal twin sister.
For those of you who don't know what a fraternal twin is, that means my sister and I look absolutely nothing alike, we hardly look related. My sister's roommate and I look more alike than she and I do. While we might have the concept of twin telepathy mastered, we unfortunately haven't been able to pull the classic twin pranks on anyone because it is far too easy to tell us apart. Bummer, right?
I'm kidding. While my sister and I might have totally different personalities and interests, we've always been extremely close. We both danced competitively, were a part of National Charity league, danced together at school, took similar classes, and had the same group of friends.
When college applications started to roll around, we had to decide where we were going to spend the next four years of our lives. We knew we wanted to study completely different things in college: she wants to study business while I want to study broadcast journalism. I decided to pursue my academic career at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State and she chose to go to Baylor University. It suddenly dawned on us that after being around each other 24/7 for the past 18 years, that time spent together was quickly grinding to a halt.
Initially, I wasn't that upset about being separated from my sister. I was too caught up in the excitement of living in a new city, having new experiences, and to finally be leaving the dreaded "OC Bubble".
When I got to school, not to sound sappy or anything, I definitely felt like a part of me was missing. My constant sidekick that I could depend upon for the last 18 years suddenly wasn't right by my side anymore. I didn't fully realize the benefits of having a twin sister that went to school with me everyday until I l got to college. From preschool to my senior year of high school (and every moment in between), I always had a built-in best friend that I could turn to. I always had someone familiar I could turn to in new, awkward, or uncomfortable situations. If friends were being annoying or I was having a tough day and wanted to vent, I could text my sister and she and I could eat somewhere different for lunch at school and deal with the problems we were facing ourselves.
Don't get me wrong, she and I still do that. We talk to each other at least once a day, if not more, via FaceTime, SnapChat, even just by calling or texting each other. We are still fully caught up in each others' lives.
With having a twin sister, I always had someone to hang out with. If I was bored, I could easily walk across the hall into my sister's room and convince her to come with me on a drive to the beach or to go for a quick Starbucks run. It feels weird to not have that instant kind of connection.
So yes, while my twin sister and I could get on each others nerves all the time and how in love I am with the aspect of being independent, I will gladly admit that I do miss my sister.