Imagine what it would be like if there was someone else on this earth who looked exactly like you. For Kiersten and Kylie Mowinski, this is no stretch of the imagination.
Kiersten and Kylie, juniors, are identical twins. It would be almost impossible to tell the two apart if it was not for the inch or so Kiersten has over Kylie. Kiersten and Kylie both feel that growing up with siblings can be challenging, but being twins has only made life easier.
“It is really convenient being a twin,” Kiersten said. “You get to have someone who is always there for you.”
George McNalis, psychology teacher, has taught multiple sets of twins in his classes, and is intrigued by the twin dynamic.
“Having a twin is like having a built-in friend,” McNalis said. “I feel like a lot of people are even envious of twins for that.”
Identical twins, also called monozygotic, occur when the egg splits into two separate eggs just a few days after conception, http://About.Com states. Identical twins get their DNA and genetic makeup from the same source, which is why identical twins appear to be ‘identical.’
However, Kiersten and Kylie do not just share their hereditary genes.
“We share everything,” Kylie said. “Especially clothing. We trade all of the time and it really comes in handy. I’m wearing Kiersten’s shirt right now.”
Even though the twins have a great relationship and feel strong about who they are, they believe that siblings often have identity problems due to constant comparison. McNalis feels this comparison and competitiveness increases with identical twins.
“Sibling rivalry is natural,” McNalis said. “Twins should realize that they don’t have to constantly compete with each other, it’s just that there’s always someone to be compared to.”
The Mowinski twins admit they used to compete with each other, but they have come up with a strategy to turn their competitiveness into a positive aspect of their relationship.
“We used to compare who was smarter,” Kiersten said. “Now we just don’t care. Kylie is better at math and science, and I’m better at English.”
The girls have found a way to use their differences to their advantage. “Kiersten helps me with writing papers and I help her with her math and science homework,” Kylie said.
The twin bond Kiersten and Kylie have developed over the years has grown stronger and stronger. Kiersten, the older twin by just a few minutes, remembers her and her twin’s special bond existing even when the two were younger.
“When Kylie still hadn’t learned to talk, our Mom wouldn’t understand her,” Kiersten explained. “Only I would know what Kylie was saying and I would help her.”
The twins agree being an identical twin means “always having each other’s backs” which Kylie is just as grateful for now as she was when the twins were growing up.
“We always had each other to play with and we always had each other’s company. I was so glad that I had Kiersten on the first day of kindergarten; I don’t know what it would have been like doing that alone,” Kylie said.
Kiersten and Kylie both appreciate each other and cannot imagine what it would be like to not have an identical twin.
“With Kiersten, I can say whatever I want to,” Kylie said. “It’s so nice never having to worry about sounding dumb or being embarrassed. We both can talk about anything and there is never any judging, I don’t know what I would do without that.”
It is hard for the twins to think about what life would be like without the other.
“I don’t know what it is like to always be on your own,” Kiersten said. “The idea of having any sibling who isn’t my identical twin is really weird. I don’t know what it would feel like to not have someone my own age, or who has done things before me.”
Parenting plays a crucial role in the development in children, whether one is raising twins or not. Kiersten and Kylie both feel as if their parents did the best possible job raising them. Kiersten and Kylie’s parents, Meghan and Tim, put the twins into the same kindergarten class so they could be there for each other during for their first year of school. After kindergarten, the Mowinskis made the decision to request that Kiersten and Kylie be put in separate classes so they could each develop individually.
“Our parents did a really great job raising us,” Kylie said. “They knew when we needed to be with each other and also when to separate us. They stopped having kids after us too because they knew any other sibling would have felt left out.”
The girls say their parents took special precautions in making sure that Kiersten and Kylie were treated as individuals which they believe is an important key to raising twins.
“For each of our birthdays, Kylie and I would get our own separate cakes,” said Kiersten. “They would sing to us separately, too. It felt really good not to be treated as one person.”
Although the Mowinskis try not to generalize the twins, the same does not go for everyone, and the twins are often not treated as separate people.
“Being a twin, people don’t treat you as your own person a lot of the time,” Kylie said. “People make a lot of annoying comments about being a twin.”
McNalis believes that “every adolescent has identity issues” and that it is not worse for twins, it is just more complicated.
“It’s extremely important for twins, and all siblings, to be treated as individuals,” McNalis said. “When I have a class with a former student’s older or younger sibling, I try to erase any pre-thoughts that I have because everyone deserves to have their own identity.”
Kiersten and Kylie feel that any minor annoyances such as negative or ignorant comments cannot make their relationship any less invaluable.
“Being an identical twin is unlike anything else,” Kylie said. “We have the same thoughts because we have experienced the same things.”
Neither Kiersten nor Kylie had the words to describe just how important they are to each other.
“There is no way to explain what Kiersten is to me,” Kylie said. “She’s not just a friend, and she’s not just a family member. She is always there for me. The best way to describe her is that it’s like she is a part of myself.”