According to the Huffington Post, 1 in 30 babies born in the U.S. are a set of twins. That’s not a huge amount when you think about all the people that you’ve met in your entire life and how many of them were twins.
Yes, I am a twin. I’ve been a twin my entire life (duh) and I have had my fair share of reactions, ranging from “no, you’re lying” to “OMG tell me everything!” I get asked the same questions over and over again, and respond in the same way, almost as if I have a script down. I can understand the fascination.
So here I bring you the top five questions I get asked as a twin:
1) Are you identical?
This is almost always the first question. It’s understandable-they want to know if they’ve seen another Nicole walking the halls. But no, we are not identical. This isn’t such a terrible question, since I have a twin sister.
But one twin, Kelsey Bobrow ’15, says that this is one of the most common questions she gets asked, despite the fact that her twin is a boy.
“[People ask] ‘Are you and him identical?’ –knowing I’m a girl and [my twin is] a guy,” Bobrow said.
It’s biologically impossible for a boy and a girl to be identical twins (does nobody remember 9th grade biology?)
However, when people find out that my sister and I are not identical, this leads to question number two, which is…
2) What does she look like?
I try to think of how to describe what my sister looks like, but it’s tough. I usually stumble with my words and say generic qualities of my sister such as “she’s a little bit shorter than me” and “she has longer hair.”
Due to my ever so vague answers, people end up wanting to learn more, which leads to question 3…
3) How are you two different?
I usually respond to this question with another question, such as “what do you mean?” Usually the person wants to know who is more outgoing, what kind of clothes she wears, etc.
Like question two, I trip up on my words while trying to describe my sister. It’s sort of a tricky question to answer; imagine being asked, on the spot, to analyze the features of your sibling and compare them to your own. It’s harder than it sounds; I don’t sit around and think about my personal attributes and how they compare to my sister’s.
My face usually scunches up as I try to think of some non-generic answer, and I usually laugh it off and change the subject.
4) Who’s smarter?
This is hands down the most awkward question I get. Not only is it personal, but if I say she’s smarter, I look dumb. If I say I’m smarter, that makes me look mean and makes my sister look dumb. It’s a no win situation.
5) Do you like being a twin?
I usually curtly respond and ask the person “do you like being an older/younger brother or sister” or “do you like being an only child?” Like them, I don’t know any different, so I just respond that I love it.
Even with all the interrogation and fascination with being a twin, I wouldn’t change my relationship with my sister any other way. So feel free to ask my questions, but I can promise you, I won’t have many exciting answers to give you.
