“I couldn’t imagine my life without my twin”, Sophomore Calli Ruschmeyer stated. “Life without my twin would be like life without a sun.”

About 32 out of every 1000 people is a twin. Because of this small number,  the majority of people who do not have a twin or twins in their life would like to know what it is like. According to HuffPost, 40% of twins make up their own language called an autonomous language. Autonomous languages are formed when two very close babies are learning how to speak a real language alongside one another.

Personally, I have two fraternal twin sisters named Cassi and Calli Ruschmeyer. In my own experience, having twin sisters is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, my sisters are there when I need them. For example, if I’m struggling in school Ican go to them and they will help me out. On the other hand, there are times when I feel left out. Sometimes I feel like my sisters are the star of the show.

If I had the choice to have a twin sister of my own, I don’t think I would want a twin. This is because I’ve always felt that there is a level of jealousy and comparing with twins. There is always supposed to be the attractive twin and the unattractive twin. When I interviewed sophomores Cassi and Calli Ruschmeyer, I learned a lot that I didn’t already know. When I asked them to describe each other in one word, Calli Ruschmeyer exclaimed that Cassi is very talented and Cassi Ruschmeyer described Calli as a very kind hearted person. The twins also explained that they feel there is a level of jealousy between them. This is understandable because when people are constantly comparing you and trying to distinguish your different features, it would cause you to be jealous of each others differences. I asked Cassi Ruschmeyer if there was ever the feeling of jealousy between Calli Ruschmeyer and her. She replied, “ I always feel compared to Calli. People like to point out the differences in us to tell us apart.”

When asked what the least favorite thing about the other twin was, the twins described how they sometimes wanted to strangle each other. For example, when driving, the Ruschmeyers’ will often fight over who’s going to drive the car or who is going to sit in the front seat. In the end, the twins stated that being twins has its flaws, but they wouldn’t want it any other way.

I also spoke with Kristin Ruschmeyer, the mother of Cassi and Calli Ruschmeyer. I asked her If she could describe the twins in one word and she responded with loveable. She added that the thing that stands out the most about the twins is the fact that they can always lean on one another. When asked about the pros of having twins, she answered with there are  two of them to love. She also commented that the cons of having twins is the fact that people like to group them together. For example, people like to dress their twin children alike and people also enjoy putting their children in the same classroom, not identifying the unique characteristics of each child.

In conclusion, being twins may have a lot of negatives, but the positives outweigh all of them.  After interviewing Cassi and Calli Ruschmeyer, I’ve seen a new side of things. People may try to compare you and you may feel like there is a competition between you and your twin. However, you have a friend for life that knows what to do in every situation you encounter.

Sources:

Jacques, R. (2014, March 24). 11 Facts About Twins That Make Them Even Cooler Than You Already Thought. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twin-facts_n_4959012

The Twins Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sites.la.utexas.edu/twinproject/facts-and-figures/