The twists and turns of being a twin

Fraternal twins Dana and Griffin Richie pose for a picture before going to a friend’s party. Photo by Clare S. Richie.

Many people view being a twin as something unconventional and unique. However, I’ve been a twin my entire life, and it’s something I’ve had no choice in. Throughout my life, I’ve noticed some things that probably would have gone differently if I didn’t have a pesky twin brother.

When I was younger, I used to pride myself in being two minutes older than my brother. I even thought I would be able to drive two minutes before him. It was one of the only things I could hold over him, and it was a big deal for five-year-old me.

My parents did just about everything they could to make sure we always had exactly equal and we were always right beside them making sure they got everything just right. Down to the size of our slice of pie, it was always exact. Now I know this mentality doesn’t work in the real world. My brother and I aren’t destined have the same things just because we’re twins.

I also feel like we have been treated as a unit our entire lives. It has always been Dana and Griffin, not just Dana or Griffin. Unfortunately, this makes it harder for me to be my own person, especially considering we have similar interests.

We both have a passion for politics, love being members of the Grady Jesters Speech and Debate team, play soccer, and like the same subjects. This means we have a lot to talk about, but this also makes us very competitive with each other. For instance, we are both currently applying for Governor’s Honors Program for Social Studies, so lately it’s been pretty tense since we’re now competitors.

Another odd aspect I continuously deal with is strangers believing my brother and I are dating. This is really frustrating for the obvious reason that the mere thought of my brother and I dating is so gross to me.

I recall one situation when we went out to eat together, our waitress told us that we looked really cute together. It’s a lot more work to explain that we were not on a date, but we are actually brother and sister. Sometimes we don’t want to be bothered so we just go with it. For instance, one of my friends thought my brother and I were dating throughout the three years of middle school. They were shocked to find that we are in fact twins, since we don’t really look alike.

Sadly, it’s a huge letdown to share my birthday with my brother. I don’t get to have my own birthday cake and when we were younger we always had joint birthday parties. Which means whenever I blew out the candles, he was right by my side.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. He’s funny, smart, and sometimes a really sweet guy. And sometimes being a twin is great. We can remind each other about assignments and other upcoming events happening in our lives. It certainly is great to have someone in your same grade to study with for tests. A lot of my friends are jealous and wish they had an automatic, captive study buddy.

My parents and friends also think that we have it made, since we could theoretically date each other’s friends. Neither of us really want to do that. We also have a lot of inside jokes, since we are together so often.

I am sure that when people find out Griffin and I are twins, they wonder what it is like to be in our shoes. They might think that our lives are more exciting and interesting since we have this quirk, but it’s not all it’s hyped up to be. It’s just a typical brother-sister relationship, even though we are physically and literally closer than most siblings in the world.