What Is It Like To Be a Twin?
“Despite all the arguments and whatever comes between us twins, no one can break the bond we have with each other. We are powerful as a storm and we stick together like birds.”
Twins? You asked. Fraternal or identical? On Thursday January 27, 2005 at 10:38 pm, a set of twins were born into the world. Congratulations, you have two girls! Jaria Fofana and Humu Fofana.
This was a surprising moment for our parents. Trying to figure out who was who. Even though we are fraternal twins, we happened to look alike when we were newborns. Growing up going to school with my twin sister, Jaria, was nice until some of the teachers would mistake us for one another. We looked nothing alike at least in my eyes. Yet, teachers or even family members couldn’t tell the difference between us. I would say “I’m the tall, quiet one that wears glasses,” and Jaria is “the short one that is bossy.” There is a funny story behind the birth of Humu and Jaria. The story was that Jaria bullied me out of the stomach. I have a love and hate relationship with my twin sister, but no matter what we always have each other's back. Living with a twin, arguing, mixing up names, trying to figure out who is older. That right there is the life of being a twin.
The aspect of being a twin comes in many forms. A lot of twins love being together at all times because they do everything together so it’s second nature, but then there are twins that love each other but live their own separate lives because they want something of their own without the picture being painted that they do everything together. Then there are twins that like to do both. But there’s always this feeling of loneliness when your twin is not there. It’s like you came out into this world together, we had company and we weren’t alone.
As for me, Jaria, being a twin made me never feel lonely growing up. We loved doing things together, such as playing sports together like basketball and volleyball. wWe dressed alike, we took trips together, we went for the same things so that followed us all our lives. We never separated from each other at all. We have the same friend groups and sometimes even the same classes.
But one thing that separates us is that I’m more outgoing and she is more reserved. I like to give myself a challenge and show people what I’m capable of, but Humu shows it behind the scenes and to people close to her. I was always the take-charge type of twin. I felt like being both a twin and the oldest sibling, I had to set an example for my little ones, and like I said she was the reserved one so I stepped up and showed people what’s up. Nevertheless, me and my sister's bond is strong; yes we go through it,but how I see it is that we came into this world together, so we will battle what comes our way together. It will feel weird if my other half is not by my side. I guess I can say I just feel safer around her and I can let my guard down a lot. Without her I feel uptight and like I have to step into many different roles, with her she takes some of that weight off me.
What’s fascinating is that we are not the only twins at Comp Sci High. In fact, there are so many. We spoke to a few of them to get their perspective on what being a twin is like.
Shane and Siysha feel very close and comfortable around each other. They would say they have a very strong bond, no one could relate to. They both claim to be on two different boats. Shane would describe his boat as a billion dollar all inclusive five star yacht and Siysha describe her boat as a plain Jane boat.
Siysha says: “We are two different people, we have different friend groups, different classes, lives, work ethics, personalities, and more, but when we come home we are the two closest people in the family and our bond is unbreakable.”
Shane says: “We were raised the same, but we have different seeds planted within us that have made us grow differently, but at the root of those seeds we still hold love for each other and a love that only we know how it feels. We can’t get another twin ever, so to one another we are irreplaceable. With us being so different we balance one another out; she definitely keeps me grounded. We don’t have the typical twin bond I feel but only we know what it truly is.” Although they may be in different boats, they always reach the same dock.
When interviewing Gwen Griffin and Olivia Griffin, former alums that attended CSH, they said being a twin can be suckish at times because they will always have to share everything. They also said it can be fun because they click as twins. “If we probably weren't twins we would be friends.”
They show that they have a strong bond and it can’t be broken. Since Gwen and Olivia are identical twins they get mixed up pretty easily. When I first saw the Griffin twins, I was confused on who was who. I was playing volleyball and I mistook Olivia for Gwen and Gwen for Olivia. Olivia said “Once you get to know us it is easier to tell us apart.” I agree with her because it took me a matter of time to tell the two apart. Olivia and Gwen have valuable moments with each other. They have laughing moments that can only be explained as a result of them being twins. If one twin laughs, so does the other. They feel connected so that's why they made the decision to go to college together because they can get away from each other. They are not so different from each other; they have the same friends but different dreams. The Griffin twins are a lot more similar to the Fofana twins. We are pretty much similar to each other except the identical part. Overall, the concept of being a twin is shown that we want each other in our lives and we have an irreplaceable bond.
Speaking from our experience and interviewing different sets of twins, I can say we all share one thing in common, and that’s not losing our other half. Shane and Siysha, Jaria and Humu are both fraternal twins but live differently. Shane and Siysha live completely different lives but can’t stand to be away from the company of each other. Jaria and Humu do a lot of things together and still can't wish for the feeling of separating from each other. As for identical twins like Gwen and Olivia, they can't be without one another. It just doesn't sit right with them. What these three sets of twins have in common is that they all feel such strong bonds. Each twin desires to be together. Despite all the arguments and whatever comes between us twins, no one can break the bond we have with each other. We are powerful as a storm and we stick together like birds.