As I walk through the crowded mall with my sister, little children stare, most adults do a discreet double take, and some bold adults question us outright. “Wow, are you twins?” “Do you know you look the same?” “What’s it like to be a twin?” “Do you have, like, psychic powers, or something with each other?” These are the most common questions twins hear. Almost all twins don’t really mind them and sometimes the attention is cool. Mostly, we just smile tolerantly at each other and answer them as best we can. After all, we don’t really know how to describe being a twin. We have never known anything else. Nonetheless, here we are. So, as a person who might not know exactly what she is talking
My sister and I, 28 minutes apart, are fraternal twins. Twins have a very special and unique bond. However, being a twin isn’t just rainbows and sunshine, it’s much more complex than that. It’s the feeling of constant comparison in every aspect of our lives. We were never invited to do activities as individuals, it was both of us, or none at all. I can tell you about the time I was 4 years old and I cut my sisters hair off so my parents would pay attention more to me, or at our 5th grade dance recital when everyone complimented her on her smile and I cried because they didn’t compliment me.
The one drawback of being a twin is making an identity for yourself. Many assume that since we are 99.9% genetically identical, that I am the same person as him. I have to show that I am separate from my twin for my family, my peers, my teachers and others. Just because I come from the same egg as him does not mean I am a unique and separate human being. Making an identity for myself is one of my main struggles in life as I try to shine out and I have come a long way. Yes, I have a different favorite color than him, orange instead of blue. Yes, I like and dislike different foods than him. Be being proud of my accomplishments with my twin make those that I make on my own that more special. I was a Committee Chair in Youth and Government in a program area that my brother was not. I partook in the Chemistry Olympiad that my brother could not as only one person could go. These standalone activities help shape who I am, but it is my twin who had given me the marble to sculpt. I know that going to college is a big step of me branching out from my twin and I'm ready as it is coming quite
Throughout history, across all cultures, people have been fascinated with twins. In addition to interest in the close emotional ties and biological similarities that twins may share, reports of special twin languages and twin extrasensory perception (ESP) help people to explore ideas of what it means to be human. How similar or different are they to each other? How important are genes and environment for development? Because identical twins share all of their genes, it is the environment—rather than genetics—that accounts for any differences between them.
Twins are something miraculous and special. I have had the pleasure of meeting seven different sets of twins in my life time thus far. Only one set is older than I am while the rest range from juniors in high school to just starting pre-school.
The Minnesota Twin Registry started in 1983 and its goal was to establish a registry of all twins born in Minnesota from 1936 to 1955 to be used for psychological research.., T.J. Bouchard, working in conjunction with the University of Minnesota, started exploring the similarities and differences in characteristics like personality, career interests, and a variety of personal interests between identical twins who were reared apart. Research was conducted on twins from all over the world. The Minnesota Twin study gave scientists a new insight of the role of nature vs. nurture on human development and personality; it was the hope that twin studies would be able to tie genes to specific behaviors. From the study, we understand that twins who were separated at birth and raised in different families
Two halves make a whole. Halves complement each other in such a way that without the other, there exists a particular void. I, Brett Gemmell, consider myself a “half,” as I live the life of an identical twin. For seventeen years, I have existed as a package, rather than an individual- my life constantly revolving around me and my twin, Drew. This orbit (course, path) of life has generated advantages and disadvantages, many of which will be altered upon entering the next chapter of my life: college.
Being a twin is never something I asked to be, but I like to think that im lucky that it did. I mean how many people can say that they grew up with someone literally from the moment they were born till the day you both leave home. When I was younger I thought having a twin was the biggest burden in my life, but now that I’ve come to appreciate him I would not want it to be any other way.
Growing up with a twin sister, I was perpetually lumped into what I call the “twin aggregate”. More often than not, this meant being referred to as “the twins” instead of Nathan and Lydia separately. At least inadvertently, this pushed us to develop our own distinct identities and form ourselves into individuals. As a result of this, Lydia and I went to different high schools. Lydia’s creativity was stimulated by the project based learning environment of the IDEAS Academy charter school, whereas I was enthralled by the STEM focused culture of Kohler High School. Naturally, my schoolmates were largely unconcerned with Lydia because she just wasn’t a part of their lives, even though she was, and continues to be, a formative part of mine. SImply
Twins, share a bond that no parent, child or sibling relationship can ever compare. There are two main types of twins, and these include: monozygotic (identical) twins and dizygotic (fraternal) twins, and they are compared by their emotional, behavioural, and cognitive similarities. (Robert Plomin, 1997). According to Social Issues Referencing, 2007, whereas Identical twins are formed from a single (mono) zygote and are genetic “carbon copies”, fraternal twins develop from two (di) separate zygotes, as a result of two eggs being fertilized by two sperms independently. (Social Issues Referencing, 2007, para. 8)
Twins are sought to be an interesting set of individuals and many questions can surround the theories of twins and their IQ, mental states, and the psychological tolls it may have on them and their families. Many parents can barely handle a singleton and would find twins birth a more challenging surprise. Some people believe that the IQ and mental state of the twins could come from their birth rate which at many times is low or the family dynamic for which the twins are raised. Many twins depend on each other in order to learn and develop which could have some advantages and disadvantages among their growth. Singleton children may have older or younger siblings or surround themselves with a group of different types of age groups and grow from there, but twins are at times more of a loner and like to stay among each other which have been my experience with my twins. Identical twins as oppose to fraternal also has an effect of the psychological and IQ of each of them. Fraternal twins are more like singletons for the most part because they do not share a egg where as the identical twins( which is have) develop differently and have a closer bond because they share the same egg and were actually a single egg that was split into two eggs.
Because my brothers are identical, people who meet us notice them. The ones that ask do it with a knowing look on their face, “Twins?” Then my brothers reply, sometimes in perfect unison, “No, we’re triplets.” A gesture towards me, and the look on the questioner’s face transforms into one
From these studies, researchers have found that twins who have grown up in the same household share similarities in the way they think, act, dress, speak, etcetera. However, with the first type of twin studies, researchers could not differentiate whether the similarities were due to them having identical/similar genetic makeups or growing up in the same environments. Therefore, in order for psychologists to know whether similarities in twins are genetic or socially influenced, they studied twins who grew up in completely different households and environments. The study showed that despite growing up with a different family and in a different environment, they still had noticeable similarities in fashion, interests, and thought processes (K.W. Brown, personal communication, August 29, 2017). Twin studies, as well as other studies, have greatly contributed to our understanding of overall role that genes play in the development of psychological traits and behavior.
Being a twin has been nothing short of ordinary. I have never been treated as normal. The first question I get asked when I meet people is always about being a twin. “Oh you are a twin? Have you ever switched classes with one another? How is it like being a twin?” are just some of the questions I am barraged with. While the questions may not seem harmful, to me they are extremely annoying and almost insulting. It shows that they do not care about who I am, but rather who we are. It is a painful realisation to know that some of the people who I know are only my friend because I am a twin. It isn’t just my social life that has taken the toll, but also my academic career.