Nearly one in 30 babies born in the United States is now twin and that number is down compared to the peak of twins in 1998. People seem to have a fascination with twins and multiple births. As a twin, my life is normal, but to someone without a twin my life can seem captivating.

I have a person in my life who has been with me from before I was born and bonded closely in the womb: my brother, Zuri.

But I can’t imagine my life without him. Like any kind of relationship, I can talk to him about my problems even more than my friends but we are closer than siblings because neither of us has had the opportunity to be an only child. We also share friends, peers and birthday parties. He is a constant source of companionship and is always there for me when I am down, as I am for him.

But sometimes being a twin can be annoying especially when people ask questions about it. For some reason people are amazed that I’m a twin!

People seem to love to ask me which one of us is older. Knowing who is older by a few minutes or less is irrelevant and something I get tired of answering. He is one minute older but what difference does that truly make? (other than to him when we argue). There are many people on this earth who share the same birthday in the same year, no one asks them who was born first.

Many people, when they haven’t met my brother, ask me whether or not we look alike. While this question is understandable, I already anticipate the question with annoyance anytime someone finds out that I am a twin. Fun fact: not all twins are identical. There are actually 7 different kinds of twins but my brother and I are fraternal. Identical twins happen when a fertilized egg splits into two. Two babies are born with identical DNA and, therefore, look alike. Fraternal twins, however, are when 2 separate eggs are fertilized. Each egg has its own set of DNA and each baby, its own set of physical traits.

Sometimes people ask if my brother and I share a sort of “Twin ESP” where we read each other’s minds and finish each other’s sentences. This seems silly to me. Even through my brother and I are twins, but we have polar opposite personalities from each other.  Some people seems to think that all twins are exactly same especially with personality, but that is not the case at all.  In fact I’m quiet, calm and reserved person compare to my brother who is little outgoing and more active with social life than me. We definitely don’t share thoughts or sentences.

While twins may be a conundrum to the outside world, it is important to understand that the twins in your life has answered those questions time and time again and might be tired of answering them. It makes us feel like you see us as a sideshow anomaly rather than 2 human beings. Each of us have distinctive personalities but that doesn’t mean we care about each other any less. At any age, with any questions, through thick and thin, we have always been by each other’s side and always will be .