Having a Twin Comes with Pros and Cons
March 31, 2022
When walking through the halls of Great Crossing High School, one will encounter several sets of twins. Being a twin is unusual, with the Center for Disease Control saying that only 32 out of 1000 babies born in the United States are twins. It comes with benefits and problems that are unique to these individuals.
Being a twin means having a built-in best friend and someone to always relay on. Junior Jakeece Patterson is a twin to his brother Jerrius Patterson. Jakeece said, “Being a twin is fun; you always have a friend and you’re never actually lonely. You always have someone to hang out with and it’s hard to get bored.”
Jerrius shared many of the same ideas as his twin brother. Jerrius said, “Jerrius said, “You find comfort in knowing you’ll always have someone who you know will have your back, it’s like having a built-in wingman.”
Freshman twin Alarra Cobbins, twin to Airsiah, also enjoys having that instant support system. She said, “Having a twin made me realize I will always have a best friend and someone who knows everything about me. Me and my sister talk about stuff together that I couldn’t tell anyone else about.”
Airsiah echoed her sister’s position. She explained, “If I don’t have anyone, I know I’ll always have Alarra by my side, no matter what happens.”
Being a twin can be frustrating at times according to senior Lexi Shepherd, twin to her sister Riley. Lexie explained, “There are times when people can’t tell me and my sister apart. We get asked a million times a day if we have a twin. I don’t blame people for their curiosity, because in many ways we are alike, but we are also really different.”
Another frustration twins have is the expectation that they always must share with the other. “Me and my sister have to share everything; I hate sharing, especially my birthday, because we have to share our cake, clothes, and even our gifts,” stated Alarra.
Always having to deal with comparisons is another negative that comes with being a twin. Jakeece explained, “Everyone always compares us to one another and makes it seem like we are the same person with the same personality. It gets so annoying, because although we look alike we have way different personalities. I’m a nicer, more social person and he’s more to himself and laid back.”