The Pink Twin
Summary
Being a twin does not make me the same person as my sister. While there are disadvantages to being a twin, I wouldn't trade it for anything else and I love having my sister as my twin.
When people look at me, they see two faces, not one. I have been called the wrong name so many times that I respond to my sister Lainey’s name along with mine. Being a twin has forced me to accept the wrong names and shrug them off as if they mean nothing, but hearing the wrong name feels like no one truly knows me. The more I am probed about being a twin, the more the label starts to feel like something that defines me, not a fun fact about myself that I can share on the first day of school as an icebreaker.
When we were younger, my sister and I were always dressed the same by our parents. We never understood why they did this because it made things even more difficult for them to tell the difference between us. Photo by Whitney DuBois.
From an early age, Lainey and I were always together. If there was a soccer game at Ripp Park, everyone knew the Christian twins would be there wearing funky socks pulled up past their knees, ready to sprint in meaningless circles and attempt to kick a ball that was practically bigger than our heads. Every week at Badger Gymnastics, my sister and I would be there in our shiny leotards, flipping around wildly as our instructor did their best to call us by the right name. From soccer to basketball to softball to gymnastics to dance, we were always side-by-side, grinning the same way, infuriating everyone who tried to remember our names. It seemed like no one knew who we really were.
Even my parents had to dress us in colored hair clips to be able to determine who was Lainey and who was Kennedy. Photo by Kennedy Christian.
Lainey and I have had a life of sharing. We share the same face, the same clothes, and the same car. Many people believe we share the same personality too. When my sister and I were kids, even our parents confused us with one another. To help tell us apart from one another, they would dress us in certain colors. Because pink was my favorite color, I was dressed in pink. Lainey’s favorite color was purple, so naturally everything she owned was purple. Suddenly every gift I received at Christmas was decorated in pink while Lainey’s gifts were purple. My sister and I became identified by the colors we wore, not by the activities we participated in or by our interests.
Though pink and purple weren’t always our favorite colors, they were the only colors we were dressed in. It was easier to tell us apart that way. Photo by Kimberly Christian.
Telling us apart is easier now. People can always identify the differences in our height or hair length. The minuscule details help others differentiate us, but even if we had our names tattooed on our foreheads in bold letters, people would still manage to call us the wrong name.
Although Lainey and I have much in common, we also have a plethora of differences that are disregarded simply because we are twins. One difference about us is the sport we play. When people try to determine a difference between us, they usually remember that Lainey plays basketball and I play soccer.
When my sister and I were younger, we played multiple sports together, making it nearly impossible for others to tell the difference between us. Photos by Lainey Christian.
Also, because Lainey and I are almost the same height, we share clothes all the time. Even if we argue over who can wear what, we normally can agree to share our clothes in an unselfish way that avoids major conflict.
In the mornings when we are getting ready for school, Lainey and I will rummage through both of our closets to figure out what we’re going to wear. Photo by Kennedy Christian.
Another great thing about having a sibling in the same grade as you is being able to work on homework together. My sister and I take most of the same classes, so we can complete our homework together and study with one another whenever we need to.
In this photo, Lainey and I are working on Spanish together. Photo by Kennedy Christian.
The stereotypes about twins are false. Lainey and I are not the same people. While being known as a twin often makes me feel overlooked, I’ve learned to live with it, to embrace it rather than despise it. And while there are many bonuses to having a twin sister like sharing clothes or having a study buddy, having Lainey as my best friend is the most rewarding prize.
My sister and I have been best friends since we were born, and we have always been attached at the hip. Photo by Whitney DuBois.
Comments
Post a commentWaunakee Community High School Advanced English 10 - 3B
Mrs. Swanhorst's Advanced English 10 students
Kennedy, What a lovely meditation on the complexities of being a twin. As a non-twin, I really appreciate so many of these insights. I particularly loved your line: "Lainey and I have had a life of sharing." I like that you didn't shy away from the complicated parts of this experience - the truth makes the impact of your writing truly powerful.