Tea for Two: On Being a Twin
By Allison, age 13, Florida
"Can you hear your twin's thoughts right now?" Nineteen 4th grade heads turned to stare at me as I was put on the spot by my teacher.
"Uhrrr, not really," I admitted. The curiosity in the room deflated. As everyone focused their attention on something else, I tried as hard as I could to hear the thoughts of that person I knew so well in the neighboring classroom. All it gave me was a headache and a sense of defeat. Was something wrong with me? Do other twins have superpowers?
Us
My sister Alissa and I were born as fraternal twins on a cold day in December - an especially cold day for Florida! We were given matching names and we looked quite alike until the age of 2 or 3 (as most babies do).The Evil Twin
Twin myths say there's always a good twin and a bad twin. Of course, twins are going to have different personalities, therefore different behaviors (obedient, strong willed, mischievous, etc.). I was always the more mischievous of the two, but never purely evil, as my sister wasn't purely good.
ESP
Can twins read each other's minds? As About.com's Pamela Fierra says, "Like any individuals that share an extremely close relationship, twins can sometimes develop a pattern of communication unique to them." My sister and I have known each other since birth, therefore we're very close. Most of the time we can understand what the other one is feeling and thinking by recognizing body language and just by having known each other for so long.School & Competition
Many people debate about whether or not twins should be split up into different classes. In my view they should be. My mom made sure we were in different classes the first year we started school and from then on. As I said, all twins are different, which means different personalities and different strengths and weaknesses. As a twin, I admit, sometimes life is just one big competition ... not that I mind. Having to compete with friends and teachers for attention with your twin is something that doesn't sound pleasant to me.
Friends
As two separate people we have a larger friend group than just one person. A twin "hogging a friend" is seen as taboo, and most of our friends are each other's friends. For us we're each other's best friends, although in some cases twins seem to grow apart with age. (I hope we don't!)When asked to give a definition of being a twin, my sister told me, "My twin sister is so special to me. She gives me support whenever I need it. She's my best friend, at least when we aren't killing each other over the computer or the last brownie or something. But no matter how much we fight, I will never stop loving my sister. She is truly the definition of a friend."
You guessed it ... the photos are of my twin sister and me.