djlundi11
Oct 28, 2010
Undergraduate / "Being a Twin" - College Application Personal Essay [14]
It's 500! Shoot...
Okay, I have it down to 497.
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"Are the two of you twins?"
A polite, "Yes," as we walk by.
When people learn I am a twin, they redirect discussion to the matter at the first available opportunity. Anything we could have previously been talking about is suddenly dropped in favor of this new one. When my brother and I are actually together, the fact that I am a twin is (obviously) much clearer. A simple glance is all it takes to spark an interest. And so begins the flow of questions.
"What's it like to be a twin?" (As if I have any means of comparison)
"Do you like it?"
How does one go about answering a question such as this? How can they understand twinhood from my perspective? For the seventeen years I have lived on this earth, I have encountered this situation more times than I care to count. All my life I have had an identical twin and people have never ceased to be amazed by this.
The first question ("What's it like?") is general enough for me to describe the simple niceties of being a twin. The second question about whether or not I find it enjoyable, however, doesn't leave me with as much "wiggle room." I can pipe off the things I may like or dislike--the ability to play games with strangers, or the headaches which arise from lifelong sibling rivalry--but can I really say whether or not I want to be a twin? Being a twin is so fundamentally a part of my existence that I could never say yay or nay; all I can retort is a hesitant "Well, it's alright, I guess. I can't complain."
Though in spells of rage I have been known to regard my twin brother as someone who is incompetent and riling, Zach and I are nevertheless best friends. There is no other person I have spent more time with than my brother, and can be around and yet proceed to act so innately and so uninhibited that it feels as though I were by myself. Granted we have our moments of weakness, but our fights are never caused by anything more than misplaced aggravation or fatigue-induced irritability.
I suppose the most reasonable explanation for this is relatively simple; my brother and I understand each other better than anyone else. We get a kick out of the same jokes and respond to certain things in similar ways. Just because we can finish one another's sentences, doesn't make us psychological oddities but shows just how identical we really are.
While I could not be happier being a twin and would never wish otherwise, I look forward to my college experience as a chance for people to know the me, and not (just) the we. I hope that as my brother and I both go our separate ways, I will find my own self through my journey to become a physician, developing a new identity different from that of my brother.
It's 500! Shoot...
Okay, I have it down to 497.
--------------------------------------
"Are the two of you twins?"
A polite, "Yes," as we walk by.
When people learn I am a twin, they redirect discussion to the matter at the first available opportunity. Anything we could have previously been talking about is suddenly dropped in favor of this new one. When my brother and I are actually together, the fact that I am a twin is (obviously) much clearer. A simple glance is all it takes to spark an interest. And so begins the flow of questions.
"What's it like to be a twin?" (As if I have any means of comparison)
"Do you like it?"
How does one go about answering a question such as this? How can they understand twinhood from my perspective? For the seventeen years I have lived on this earth, I have encountered this situation more times than I care to count. All my life I have had an identical twin and people have never ceased to be amazed by this.
The first question ("What's it like?") is general enough for me to describe the simple niceties of being a twin. The second question about whether or not I find it enjoyable, however, doesn't leave me with as much "wiggle room." I can pipe off the things I may like or dislike--the ability to play games with strangers, or the headaches which arise from lifelong sibling rivalry--but can I really say whether or not I want to be a twin? Being a twin is so fundamentally a part of my existence that I could never say yay or nay; all I can retort is a hesitant "Well, it's alright, I guess. I can't complain."
Though in spells of rage I have been known to regard my twin brother as someone who is incompetent and riling, Zach and I are nevertheless best friends. There is no other person I have spent more time with than my brother, and can be around and yet proceed to act so innately and so uninhibited that it feels as though I were by myself. Granted we have our moments of weakness, but our fights are never caused by anything more than misplaced aggravation or fatigue-induced irritability.
I suppose the most reasonable explanation for this is relatively simple; my brother and I understand each other better than anyone else. We get a kick out of the same jokes and respond to certain things in similar ways. Just because we can finish one another's sentences, doesn't make us psychological oddities but shows just how identical we really are.
While I could not be happier being a twin and would never wish otherwise, I look forward to my college experience as a chance for people to know the me, and not (just) the we. I hope that as my brother and I both go our separate ways, I will find my own self through my journey to become a physician, developing a new identity different from that of my brother.
