Life of a Twin

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Twins Macy and Olivia Ogden

Kate Wang, Features Writer

Twins Anais and Andres Chavez faced their first day at a new school. Moving from Los Angeles to Folsom their sophomore year, they enrolled into Vista del Lago High School. The first day for any student, especially new students, can be a nerve-racking experience. However, for Anais and Andres, an unfamiliar school was a lot less scary because neither one of them had to enter alone.

In school and in life, twins are there for one another in times of need. And twins like freshman Emma and James Duckett understand this feeling.

“Having a twin is very comforting because we are both going through all the stress and drama of life and high school,” said James.  

A twin usually guarantees at least one friend. Senior Macy Ogden is a twin–and best friend–to her sister Olivia Ogden. “You always have a best friend, and it’s nice to have someone your age going through the same experiences as you,” said Macy.

A twin can also have academic benefits.

“We are in the same math, English, science and Spanish-level classes. Whenever either of us receives an assignment that is difficult or challenging, we just ask the other twin for help, and after our discussion, we both get a very good understanding of whatever topic we are talking about,” said Emma.

Although having a twin is beneficial to both siblings, it also comes with many awkward and aggravating problems. They live in the same home, go to the same school and often share the same friends — there is such a thing as too much togetherness.

“Someone invites both twins to something even though they’re only friends with one, but they feel obligated to invite both and it’s kind of awkward,” said Anais.

Twins who experience the same environments usually acquire similar traits and create similar interests while traits produced by genes display alike appearances.“Having a twin feels weird sometimes because it’s like half of you walking around…The drawbacks…is just getting our names mixed up and getting compared to each other,” said Macy. It can definitely create confusion for teachers and friends who aren’t sure who to address.

Usually, there is an undeniable bond between the two siblings, especially if they are identical. Identical twins, who develop from a single egg, share similarities more strongly than do fraternal twins, who come from two different eggs. It suggests that identical twins share all their genes while fraternal share only about 50 percent of them.

“I have never felt the same as my twin, but we have thought the same thoughts and we speak the same sentences at the same time a lot,” said Macy about her sibling.

“Sometimes we think the same things and react to things the same way,” said Andres about his identical twin, Anais.

Vista’s campus is diverse with its many nationalities and backgrounds coming together as Eagles, and the twins add another special level to that diversity.