I am one of the lucky people in the world who gets to say they are a twin, and I wish everyone could understand what that’s like. When people ask, “Do you ever wish you had your own birthday?” my answer is easy: No. My birthday is my favorite day of the year; however, I wouldn’t trade getting to share every second with her for anything. When she got accepted to the University of Connecticut, my choice was easy: to follow her here. Maybe one day we will have to spend some time apart, but we knew we had to stick together for a while.
Natalie is my twin sister and has been with me through everything. We have always done everything together, from being in the same school and classes to sharing the same friends to living together in college. She is my ride-or-die. We have been through so many things together and she is always there for me. Everyone needs a Natalie in their life, because if you are a friend to her, she will do anything for you. She will call me out if I’m wrong, but she will always stand up for me, whether I’m there or not.
Natalie and I could not be more opposite. She has blonde hair and blue eyes; I have brown hair and brown eyes. She is an engineering major, and I am a communication and journalism major. She loves napping; I hate it. She is an introvert; I am an extrovert. She has a perfect memory, and I can’t remember what I did yesterday. Sometimes she asks if I remember things from when we were as young as four, and as much as I wish I remembered every second with her, I do not. What I do remember is getting to grow up and laugh with my best friend for the first 20 years of my life. In so many ways we are different, but we are also so similar. We love games, have the same humor, and usually even the same strong opinions.
One of the best parts of having a twin is having someone who understands you in a way no one else can. I don’t need to explain the background of a story to her because she was there. I don’t have to explain my reasoning because she would usually do the same thing in that situation or knows me well enough to predict what I would do.
Being a twin is simply the best thing. I genuinely find it crazy that other people don’t have twins. What do you mean you haven’t had the same person by your side 24/7 from birth? In fact, Natalie and I had not spent 24 hours apart until we were over 18. I was nervous to be apart, but it turns out we can actually survive being separated — I know, surprising. Spending that much time with someone does lead to some fighting, but that comes with the twin title. I’m sure everyone with siblings can relate to this, but the fights and times she drives me crazy are worth it because I get to laugh with her, experience life with her, and have a best friend for life. I got a built-in best friend, and she is the most amazing person I have met.
Natalie is also the smartest person I have ever met. Honestly, it’s become a problem. Some people use AI, but I use Natalie. Can’t remember a word I’m trying to say? I will ask Natalie, and she knows exactly what I am looking for. Can’t build something myself? She will learn how to and help me. If I am trying to make a reference but I can’t think of it, she knows what I am trying to say even when I say it completely wrong and no one else understands (it also helps that she knows every reference ever and quotes them daily). I honestly believe she is capable of anything and everything. Most of the time, she makes me try to get to an answer or figure things out myself and tells me, “You can do hard things,” but her challenging me is just another reason to love her.
Now, the question you’ve really been wondering: Is twin telepathy real? The answer is yes: I can read her mind, and she can read mine. I’m joking, but we often accidentally say the same things at the same time or have the exact same thought process when making decisions. One time, she told me to guess a number from one to 10 and I said, “You wanted to pick seven but it was too obvious, so you changed to three.” She said, “That is exactly what I thought, and three is correct.” We are weirdly on the same page about things most of the time.
Growing up with someone always by your side can make it hard to imagine life independently while also learning how to be your own person. Natalie and I have always been a package deal, so leaving to study abroad in Italy next semester and living in another country without her makes me nervous, but it’s our relationship that makes me know I can do it and that everything will be okay. Being close to someone doesn’t mean you have to do everything together; rather, it means we can live our own separate lives and keep the same bond we always had. It’s comforting to know that no matter how much our lives change or how many new people come into them, we will always be a constant in each other’s lives.
I wish everyone could experience having a twin, but I know it’s hard for people to understand what they are missing if they have never experienced it in the first place. As much as I want to explain it, you can only truly understand it if you have experienced life with someone in this way.
Having a sibling can be similar. However, siblings experience parts of their lives without each other and are different ages as they grow up, which is not the same for twins, triplets, and other multiples.
Natalie has experienced only two minutes and 30 seconds of life without me in this world. Sometimes I am okay with being the younger sibling because I wasn’t alive for any time without Natalie, and why would I want to be in a world without her? I hope any twins reading this understand the bond I am talking about and how lucky we are to be born with a best friend and partner for life. If you are not a twin, I hope you better understand the closeness twins share and have someone as close to that as you can get in your life.
I am so lucky to have experienced my childhood, college, and the Disney College Program with Natalie, and I can’t wait to see what else we experience together.