"What's it like to be a twin," is presumably the most highly demanded question I have gotten for the past 17 years of my life. While I stand there for a few seconds thinking of ways I could possibly explain the nature of sharing a whole human existence with another... I can't. I end up blurting out the vaguest response, "Well, I don't know what it's like to not be one," and they begin to nod their head in acceptation. Although, I don't blame the ones who ask considering it is an incomparable experience that few people get to share. For all of my life, I have shared a part of me with my twin brother, Noah. Although we are opposite sexes, I have been linked to him in almost every way possible; through friends, the inevitable invitation to the same parties, the same car, and more. While this link allows our relationship to blossom, it also causes our relationship to fall at times.
We have been told that it is surprising to watch Noah and I side by side because you get a glimpse of how similar we really are, yet, we are totally opposite genders. Maybe it's the fact that there is no other person that I have spent more time with in my life, or because we simply add to one. It becomes easy to act so innately and so independent around him that it almost seems like I am by myself. With the same sense of humor and the way we carry ourselves, it's almost impossible to not notice the ultimate bond between us. This bond helps me through times when I need a friend, or simple advice to keep me going.
Although being a twin gives you someone to rely on, being a twin causes hardships at times when it is necessary to create your own identity. It comes with one being excelled in a certain field, while the other falling shortly behind. It comes with fights over who gets the car that day, or who did better on their math test. At certain times it becomes difficult to set yourself aside from the other, and to venture in your own interests and excel in your greatest skills. It is almost inevitable to escape from the label of being just "the Gifford twins," but it creates a challenge in pursuing my own identity. This challenge becomes easier and easier everyday as we plan our futures to the outside world. Without him, I would not be able to distinguish the difference between being yourself, and following the lead. I would not be able to balance having someone I can rely on, but the ability to not depend on someone at every moment of the day.
To answer the common question, "What's it like to be a twin," ... it is unique, and without this rare gift I have, I would not be the person I am today.
We have been told that it is surprising to watch Noah and I side by side because you get a glimpse of how similar we really are, yet, we are totally opposite genders. Maybe it's the fact that there is no other person that I have spent more time with in my life, or because we simply add to one. It becomes easy to act so innately and so independent around him that it almost seems like I am by myself. With the same sense of humor and the way we carry ourselves, it's almost impossible to not notice the ultimate bond between us. This bond helps me through times when I need a friend, or simple advice to keep me going.
Although being a twin gives you someone to rely on, being a twin causes hardships at times when it is necessary to create your own identity. It comes with one being excelled in a certain field, while the other falling shortly behind. It comes with fights over who gets the car that day, or who did better on their math test. At certain times it becomes difficult to set yourself aside from the other, and to venture in your own interests and excel in your greatest skills. It is almost inevitable to escape from the label of being just "the Gifford twins," but it creates a challenge in pursuing my own identity. This challenge becomes easier and easier everyday as we plan our futures to the outside world. Without him, I would not be able to distinguish the difference between being yourself, and following the lead. I would not be able to balance having someone I can rely on, but the ability to not depend on someone at every moment of the day.
To answer the common question, "What's it like to be a twin," ... it is unique, and without this rare gift I have, I would not be the person I am today.
