In honor of my seventeenth birthday, I thought I would write a quick blog post about what it’s like to share your birthday with a twin. These are 6 things that I’ve typically experienced on my birthday as a twin, but if you have siblings (or even a twin) you might be able to relate too! This is not something I usually write about but I thought it would be fun, so read and enjoy! :)
1. It’s not really your special day.
As a twin, I’ve gotten pretty used to sharing. It may be selfish, but sometimes I wonder what it’s like to have your own special day, to be the center of attention for once. What is it really like to have your own birthday? Probably a question you’ve never asked yourself. But every year, I wonder. Even so, I love sharing my birthday with my twin. It may not be my own, but it’s ours, and that’s good enough for me.
2. Personal birthday shout-out on Instagram? Forget it.
For some reason, this is something that really bothers me about my birthday. I know it sounds shallow and trivial, but I HATE when friends do a birthday shout-out on their Instagram and lump us together as if we’re the same person. It’s really not about the shout-out, it’s the principle behind it. People will do the same thing when wishing us a happy birthday over the phone and especially through text. It’s a single group message and done. I want to be individually celebrated on my birthday just like everyone else is. I want to be texted or shout-outed separately because I’m a separate person from my twin. Really, I just want my birthday to be personal to me for even just a single text message; is that really too much to ask? I’m not complaining. My friends are great and I love getting celebrated no matter what, but keep this in mind the next time you are wishing your twin friends a happy birthday.
3. Saved from the awkward singing!
Anyone dread the time when you are forced to sit awkwardly in front of a cake as everyone around you stares and sings at you? Not me! I am lucky enough to have someone to go through this awkward birthday tradition with, and someone that I can look at and laugh with through the song. Opening gifts is also never too awkward; I cringe every time I watch my younger sister open gifts on her birthday and thank god I don’t have to go through that. Because let’s face it: birthdays can be kinda weird and having someone there makes everything ten times better.
4. You have to agree on every. Single. Thing.
My twin sister and I like the same things for the most part, but that doesn’t mean we agree on what we want our birthday to be like. Although, after seventeen years of birthdays together, we’ve gotten pretty good at agreeing. From dinner to what we want to do to party dates, we have had to make a lot of compromises. I am fortunate to have a sister that is pretty similar to me and a family that really tries to accommodate and make the day special for both of us. But we still have quite a few conversations about our birthday and what we want.
5. Identical gifts
I don’t have a huge problem with this, especially because it’s gotten a lot better as we’ve gotten older. My twin and I are not identical, so that makes things easy too. We have different favorite colors, different interests, and relatively different styles, so identical gifting has pretty much disappeared into the fringes of our childhood. But every once in a while, we’ll receive the same gift from an extended aunt, friend, or even a family member who thinks we’ll both like it. Majority of the time, they’re right. My sister and I have also gotten over the “everything needs to be fair” phase as well, so this is not much of a problem anymore. And anyway, that’s just sibling life, right?
6. It’s fun!
Being a twin is not always as glamorous as you might think. Most of the time, it’s just like having a sibling that happens to be your same age and have the same birthday. We don’t have a secret code or language and we aren’t connected by some mysterious inner bond, we’re just sisters. But on our birthday, we are reminded of our togetherness and celebrated for being somewhat of a rarity. We are reminded that being twins is still pretty awesome.
There you have it. Sharing my birthday can be annoying sometimes, but I wouldn’t change being a twin for the world. I’ve enjoyed all the birthdays I’ve had so far, and today is no exception! As always, thanks for reading! And thank you for all the birthday wishes! Let me know what you think or if you can relate in the comments, and be sure to follow me on Instagram @prime.eleven.blog