Twin one, twin two!

This week I will be turning the ripe old age of twenty-two; I’ll be spending the day with my nearest and dearest university friends, celebrating in ways only students can get away with, and generally making the most of being in Southampton, spending the next day with my parents in the beautiful city of Winchester. But being a student here at the University of Southampton has really changed how I celebrate birthdays.

I am a dizygotic twin. Or, in more familiar terms, a non-identical or fraternal twin. My sister Katie and I were formed from two separate eggs, rather than one single egg. Technically speaking, then, we are no more similar to each other than any other siblings; we just happen to share the same birthday.

When I tell people I’m a twin, they tend to get fairly excited. People have visions of us walking around in matching outfits, speaking at the same time, knowing what the other is thinking. Sorry to disappoint you, but I can do none of that with Katie! Occasionally we say the same thing at the same time, but mostly we’re nothing alike. At all. Several people in my secondary school did not know we were even related until the last week of our final year, and we’ve always been described as ‘chalk and cheese’ – especially by our own parents.

Here are some examples: I am studying a Masters in English Literary Studies after graduating from three years of studying English at undergraduate level. Katie hates reading. She hated studying English at school, and she would rather watch a film than settle down with a good book. She does not enjoy academia, but is the best cook I know, makes fantastic cakes, and knows her way around a clothes shop as well as being a talented artist. I love poetry; she hates it. I love vegetables; she used to hate those too, though she likes them more now. I have naturally dark brown hair, pale skin and glasses; Katie was born with naturally blonde ringlets, rosy cheeks, and perfect eyesight. I don’t think you could get more different than that without changing gender!

Katie and I this summer at LeeFest

The NHS website states that:

"About one in every 65 pregnancies in the UK today is a twin pregnancy, which means that about one in 32 babies born is a twin."

Twins are far more common than you first think, and fraternal twins are more common than identical twins. Although this makes me feel a little less unique, it does bring up some interesting subjects for me to consider. Fraternal twins are hereditary, meaning that I could well become a mother to two children at the same time in the future. Not only this, but fraternal twins become more likely after you’ve already had a pair - which means, if you’re extremely unlucky (or lucky, depending on your outlook!) you could be a parent to two sets of twins.

So, going back to our birthdays. Before university we had always celebrated our birthdays together, with our different friendship groups and various family events. We always received presents at the same time, even receiving identical gifts occasionally, and our primary school classes found it easy to wish us many happy returns without forgetting the other one! The only slight differences were what cakes our Mum would bake, and Katie always got given her cake first, being the older twin by 40 minutes (yes, 40 minutes… sorry Mum!)

However, for my first year at University I was suddenly able to celebrate my birthday alone, for the first time in my life. To not be sharing a day celebrating with my sister, who had always been there, was a really odd sensation. Even though we didn’t do everything together as some twins do, we still celebrated the day acknowledging each other and actually being physically present. In 2009, aside from a phone call, I had spent the day without her. This was a little exciting; but I’m not one for being the centre of attention, and it was a new experience to have one day entirely to myself with people who didn’t know Katie.

Katie and I having tea at the Ritz for our 21^st Birthday

Last year, in my third year at Southampton, I celebrated my 21^st birthday, again without my sister. However, the first weekend after the big day, I went home and visited family before being treated to tea at the Ritz with Mum, Dad, and of course, Katie, for our special birthday. I was experiencing the birthday treat with the person I had always celebrated with, and it felt more normal to me than celebrating on my own!

This year will potentially be my last year of celebrating a birthday at University. Next year, I’ll probably be going back to celebrating it (to a certain extent) with my sister. It’ll be like getting used to it all over again!

We’ve become closer since I left for Southampton three years ago (the distance probably helps) and we chat more like friends than we used to. I have always looked up to her, and though we still bicker occasionally, I do consider her to be one of my best friends. We are in no way joined at the hip, but she is without a doubt one of the coolest people I’ll ever meet.

Katie and I at my Graduation this year – sorry, but I had no embarrassing baby photos on my laptop!

So Happy Birthday Katie – enjoy your day – because before you know it, we’ll be sharing birthday cakes all over again!

Joanne