When I tell people I have a twin brother, they instantly say, “Let me see a picture! Do you look like him?” I always pull up the same picture and say, “Pick out which one is my twin.”
I’ll let you in on a secret — it’s not the kid in the striped shirt. Nine times out of 10, people say that Drew, the one in the striped shirt, is my twin brother. No, he’s 23.
Matt, in the blue shirt, is very used to hearing that. Drew and I both have brown hair, brown eyes, are tall, lanky and you could probably break both of us in half like a stick. Matt is very tall — he has a foot on me — weighs 95 pounds more then me and is built.
Matt is 6’2’’, a pre-med major, has had a 4.0 since high school, is very athletic and loves to surf. I am 5’5’’, a broadcast journalism major, have definitely not had a 4.0 since high school, trip over myself when I try to go for a run and my idea of a good day at the shore is lying in a beach chair soaking up the sun.
It is very rare for anyone to guess that Matthew Blaise Maffey is actually my twin.
As soon as I say, “No, it’s the kid in the blue,” people automatically begin asking my favorite twin questions.
“Are you identical or fraternal?” (seriously?) , “Do you guys have twin telepathy?” , “Do you guys hang out with the same friends?” , “Do you guys feel when each other are hurt?”, “Are you guys really close?”, and my personal favorite — “Who’s older?” Matthew loves answering that last question because he’s a minute older and refers to me as his “little sister.”
Sometimes, I wonder if people think about the questions they ask us. But at 21, we’ve been asked the same questions since kindergarten.
There are a lot of things I’ve learned since growing up with a twin, and here are just a few.
1. No matter what time it is, your twin will always answer the phone.
Currently, my twin is in Australia. Even with a 14-hour time difference, there is never a moment where he doesn’t pick up the phone. There have been many instances where I am walking home after a night at the bar and just need someone to talk to, so I call Matt. It doesn’t matter if he’s at school with his roommates or in Australia. He always answers his phone and passes it around to his roommates so I get to talk to all of them, just so I’m not lonely on my walk home.
2. Your twin is always your biggest fan, no matter how many times you fall off a surfboard.
Two summers ago, I decided I wanted to be one of the guys and learn how to surf. No one was shocked when I fell completely off the board, multiple, multiple times. No matter how many times I fell, Matt was always there saying, “You got it next time, Sauce!”
3. They’re the only one who can give you a ridiculous nickname and get the rest of your friends to call you it.
That’s right. That is how “Sauce” was born. As silly of a nickname as “Sauce” is, I learned to love it — especially since I do not have a single friend from home that calls me Meg. Thank you Matthew Blaise for that one.
4. Your twin is always be there to pick you up when you fall, or help you down the escalators when you’re too afraid to go alone.
If you’ve ever watched Elf and you have seen the scene where Will Ferrell stretches his legs and rides up the escalator, yup, that’s me. I have an irrational fear of escalators and have a problem going down them. In the past, Matt went down one and I was too afraid so I stayed at the top. He came back up and grabbed my arm and helped me down the escalator. To this day, at 21 years old, I still sit down on the escalators because I’m that afraid.
5. Their friends become your friends, no matter what.
Since Matt and I are already basically the same person, the people we hang out with are always the same, too. I was even inducted into his best friend group JAMS — Jack, Arthur, Matt and add an S for Sauce. If I didn’t have Matt, these two guys would not have walked into my life and gotten stuck with another sister they probably don’t always want.
6. They’re your favorite car-ride buddy and will sing every single song in the car, even if it’s High School Musical.
There is a negative percent chance that Matt will ever admit he knows every single word to “What I’ve Been Looking For” from High School Musical. However, no matter if we’re driving to a family event or to the shore, I always look forward to taking Stan the Van on an adventure and jamming together in the car. Plus, he’s always the best car-buddy and (usually) doesn’t back seat drive while I’m driving.
7. You always have someone who loves your birthday as much as you do.
There is not a single day that I love more than my birthday. But I don’t love it because I get presents or because the day is all about me. It’s not. I love it because every single year for the rest of my life, I get to celebrate my birthday with Matt. No matter how old we are, how much cake gets shoved in our faces (Thank you, Arthur) or how weird our twin telepathy is (We’ve bought each other the same exact same candles and the same brand of chapstick in the same exact flavor), he is always the happiest and best person to share a birthday with. You should be jealous.
8. And at the end of the day, you always have a best friend there when you need them.
Sometimes I may tell you that you’re adopted, and that it’s weird you love math (I’d rather stick needles in my eyes then ever go to another math class for the rest of my life). But it’s the things like picking out identical dinners from the menu and you giving me the “SAUCEEEEEEEE” lecture that I usually need. These things make you my best friend, and the best person to be around. No matter how many boy problems I have or how annoying I find everyone who walks past me, you’re always my favorite person — mostly because you’re my twin and you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life!
Love ya bro! Can’t wait to see you Dec. 12.