Nobody is more competitive than twins. My entire life I have been compared to my twin sister; So, imagine my surprise when, on our birthday, August 22, at 4:22 p.m., I found out that my twin sister and I had two classes together. What a great present from the world, yet another thing I have to share.
Up until this year, my sister and I have never shared a class. That is because Westport Public Schools has a policy that will not allow twins to share the same classes unless a parent requests otherwise. However, that formal restriction does not extend past fifth grade.
My mom assured me that the teacher wouldn’t realize we were twins because we look so different. But lo and behold, as my teacher took attendance on the first day, he stopped at my name, did a double take and asked me the question I was dreading.
“Two Jacobs! Are you guys related?” My teacher said as I laughed in embarrassment and shyly said, “Yeah we are twins.” He stopped for a second and studied our different faces.
Freckles- no freckles
Red hair- blond hair
Short- tall
No shock to me at all, he began to compare us.
In class, we were told to turn and talk; and, of course the person to my right was…my twin. I turned to her and said, “I can’t talk academically with you. You already know what I am thinking.” She rolled her eyes in agreement and turned right back around.
In addition, instead of being independent and seen as individuals, we are now seen as a pair. It is just a matter of time until my classmates start referring to us as “The Twins” or “The Jacobs” instead of our individual names. I mean I totally understand, it is truly taxing to say both names.
Lastly, it is no secret that siblings, especially twins, bicker and fight. Due to the large amount of time together, we tend to have shorter tempers with each other. Me and my sister and I do the same sport, so school is (or, at least, was) really our only time to separate and find our identity and friends apart from each other. Now, with this schedule development, I spend most of my morning, afternoon with my twin and night with my twin. Not that I don’t like her company, but this amount of time together would drive any two people crazy.
This overall scheduling nightmare will be a true test to not only our bond, but also my sanity this crazy junior year.
P.S., I do love being a twin, don’t worry!
