I was born 18 minutes before my twin sister. The next 20 years of my life would be filled with matching velcro sneakers, identical blond braids and sharing birthday gifts. Being a twin is unique, but also pretty similar to any other brother or sister relationship. But somehow, at 20 years old, I've narrowed down to some of the most common questions and remarks I have heard about being a twin.
1. Which one is older?
According to NCBI, "A clinical investigation was undertaken to challenge the commonly accepted view that the interval between the birth of the first and second twins should be preferably within 15 minutes and certainly no more than 30 minutes." Therefore, granted, my sister and I were on the weirder side of the spectrum, but typically, this answer doesn't really have a point, and even if it does, it can be summed up in an average. However, I do like answering this question since I'm older by 18 minutes.
2. Are you guys identical or fraternal?
I actually have no idea what the scientific difference is between the two, but all I do know is that my sister and I are fraternal. This is the time I turned to Google:
"Because fraternal, or dizygotic, twins are 2 separate fertilized eggs, they usually develop 2 separate amniotic sacs, placentas, and supporting structures. Identical, or monozygotic, twins may or may not share the same amniotic sac, depending on how early the single fertilized egg divides into 2.
If twins are a boy and a girl, clearly they are fraternal twins, as they do not have the same DNA. A boy has XY chromosomes and a girl has XX chromosomes. Girl-boy twins occur when one X egg is fertilized with an X sperm, and a Y sperm fertilizes the other X egg" (Healthy Children).
So, if you're interested in how the journalism, pre-law student would word this difference: My sister and I were born in different sacs, therefore, we are fraternal.
3. Are you friends?
I've been asked this question so many times and it blows my mind because having a twin is the same as having another sibling, minus spending a lot of time inherently together.
4. Is being a twin really fun?
Again, it's just as fun as having a normal sibling. It is great to always have someone, especially on the first day of school and at lunch time.
5. Do you like being a twin?
Sure, but I wasn't really given a choice.
6. Tell me all about your twin.
I could write a book about my sister's life or at least set up her LinkedIn bio after explaining every part of who she is and wants to be to people.
7. Do you act the same?
Going back to that Google search, we were in different sacs, so no.
8. Do you finish each other's sentences?
Someone's been watching too much daytime television.
9. Did you want to go to the same college?
This is one question I get a lot when people I meet at my college realize I have a twin. And the honest answer is, I don't know. I didn't pick where I wanted to go to school off of my sister. Sure, it would have been great to have her at college, but ultimately, we wanted to go to different school for academic reasons. I think this is a good example of a process that really is individualized, like picking your college, that gets blurred when you're a twin.
10. Do you miss her?
Obviously, I'm not evil.
11. Are you Emily or Caroline?
And with that, I'm done.
