Tag: general

Commonly Asked Questions about Twins

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Yea, you guessed it, I’m a twin. The following questions have followed me around my whole life, and on behalf of twins everywhere, I present the following commonly, sometimes annoyingly, asked questions:

“Yall twins?”

We are obviously twins. But I must say I’m guilty of this myself. Though being a twin, when I see other twins I ask the same questions other people ask me. Hmmm, wonder if that breaks some kind of twin rule.

“Who the oldest?”

Is this a trick question? But since you asked, I came out first.

“By how many minutes?”

Five whole minutes and I’m the big sister, yay me

“Yall fraternal or identical?”

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This is a good question actually. A lot of people get confused between the two. Identical twins look well, identical, but this doesn’t determine whether or not they’re identical. A general stereotype about identical twins is that they are clones. They act alike, look alike, and are expected to be “identical.” However, the term identical twins actually describe how we form in the womb, not what we look like. Also known as monozygotic, identical twins are twins who developed from one egg that splits and forms two embryos. Fraternal, or dizygotic, twins develop from two eggs, each fertilized by separate sperm cells. (This is why fraternal twins sometimes look nothing alike) Dizygotic twins share about 50% of their genetic traits, the same as any other siblings born at different times. With that said, my sister and I are identical twins.

“Who’s the mean one?”

You know, being a twin doesn’t mean that we share personalities. In some ways we do, but we’re not half of one thing and another half of another thing. There’s not one who’s wholly mean and another who’s wholly nice. We both still have our own individual character traits.

“If I hit you, will she feel it?”

I don’t know, if I hit you, will you feel it?

Some interesting facts about identical twins:

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• The causes of monozygotic twinning are generally unknown and unidentified. No one really knows why an egg splits; according to the “professionals” it’s a malfunction of the normal development process. I beg to differ, there is nothing abnormal about us. We’re awesome. 🙂

• There’s no hereditary trait that influences a predisposition to having identical twins. Contrary to popular belief identical twins do not run in families, although there are families with a high incidence of identical twins.

• Identical twins represent about a third of all twins. fraternal twins are twice as common as identical.

• Birth rate statistics for identical twinning have remained stable over the years, despite the overall increase in twins and multiples since the late 1980’s. The odds of having identical twins are about 3 in 1,000, whereas the birthrate for all twins is about 32.2 in 1,000.

• Identical twinning is not generally influenced by fertility-enhancing treatments like drugs or in vitro, although identical twins have been produced in pregnancies that were the result of such treatments.

• Birth rates for identical twins are consistent across populations; it is the same regardless of race, geography or mate

 

“What’s the most fun thing about being a twin?”

People are fascinated by us.

Say Stuff That Make Sense

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We often look for depth when there is none. Everyone has something profound to say. Sometimes what we have to show to the world is indeed profound. Not really because it is insightful, but because it introduces our minds to something we had no prior thought of. It introduces us to something so far beyond our understanding that we can only think of one word: “Wow”. Or it connects to us in some way, it reaches us. You will often notice that when people say that something is deep, it is not always because they understand it, but sometimes it is because they do not. It is so far beyond their comprehension that it is too deep to understand at the moment. The problem is that sometimes, despite how deep it is, it still doesn’t make any sense. That is, there is no truth to it. Sometimes you just need to say stuff that will make sense to people when they hear it or read it (and if you are the reader make sure your not just agreeing with something because it sounds nice, make sure it also makes sense. A lot of people have been led astray by things that are just not truth but it sounds good). Mankind is a logical thinking creation. He processes information and understands things when they make sense to him, and often when he can relate to it. It is for this reason that we are more likely to tune into people’s experiences and those things most intimate to them because it just makes sense. While one thing can make sense to one person and not to the other, it is still not wise to create profundity where there is none. Don’t reach since doing so only makes you look foolish. Just let the words flow naturally, paint the picture people want to see, and be sure to make sense of it all. Connect with them.

Cold Hearts and Secret Sorrows

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What an interesting quote. It’s kind of sad just reading it. I know that many of us can remember people who were so cruel either in our lives or the lives of others and yet the truth may just be that they’ve buried the light so deeply within themselves that it is hard to find again; and that in cruelty, they are only miserable. Even within our own lives, those of us willing to be honest about it, we may be able to find instances where we were being mean but it was only because we were also being sad. After all, there is the saying that misery does love company. Good thing I’m not on the guest list though. Sorry, but if your around me there’s a requirement that you smile. I actually love to laugh. 🙂

In Minds Reach

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For strength you must first know your weaknesses. And you must know them more than anyone else. Only then can you train your mind to think differently, and to improve on those weaknesses. To train is to continually practice something over a period of time. So this is not a one day affair to which you will be granted the fruits of this one night stand of sorts. You will not burst through with instant gratification of having remained still when the world is moving too fast. When the buildings and the trees and the people all crumble around you, persistence will not lay it’s hand on your chest, does not care for the thrashing hailstones crashing onto the ground. Do not court with strength. It is not something that falls off of trees. Do not leave it lingering on the edges of your breaths like when lips beg to be suckled, and swallowed whole by the thought of love; a drop of oil waiting modestly in the hallowed hallways of her breast. Do not fool yourself, for strength has never happened upon us the way that romanticized love does inside the pages of Hollywood. But to wake up and know that you are beauty made manifest; to know that you’ve got diamonds in-between your toes and underneath your fingernails; that you are princess and prince to a wealth of possibilities all in reach of your mind, this is a daily striving. A striving so beyond the flesh that you can taste it in your dreams and dance with it in your thoughts. It is tangible and intangible, symbolic, and literal, physical, and mental all wrapped up in one great trial of bewildered circumstance; waiting for the moment where it may envelop you with its glory. All neatly wrapped into a beautiful face too precious to ignore, and yet too glowing to stare into. Indeed, strength awaits you.

No Thank You

In case you’re wondering where the Christmas lights are, why I did not decorate my blog with carved Turkeys this weekend or why I have yet to regurgitate from the bowels of Neo Paganism some exciting holiday cheer, I just thought I’d warn you not to send me a holiday greeting or to send your cute little devil friends, I’m sorry elves, to come beating down my door with laughing hatred…no thank you to it all. I actually don’t celebrate holidays. There I said it. You may now refer to me as your crazy blogger friend who hates Jesus, I’m used to it.

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