Our foray into podcasting continues; this time whilst huddled on a bed in the spare room, surrounded by piles of washing and unpacked boxes of books.
This week, we are considering that aged old question: ‘what is it like to be an identical twin?’ Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is a question that has defined the majority of our lives and yet, despite many years’ of practise, it is one we are still no better at answering. As twins, the question is not too dissimilar to asking: ‘what is it like to have an arm?’
I don’t know. Great? Necessary? Handy?
Throughout this forty minute exploration into twinhood, we hit upon a few things that, for us at least, characterise the unique and ever complex relationship between identical twins. Whilst some of it is good: an unfailing support network, a wingman for any public occasion and a daily sounding board, some of it is, nonetheless, difficult. As adults, being an identical twin can bring with it an additional layer of complexity, anxiety and complications that you non-twin folk are free of.
So, and without further ado, our (at times baffling) ruminations on what it feels like to be an identical twin, can be found below. As ever, we do not advise that you play this in a public space – Claire references her disdain for seeing me naked. Instead, grab your headphones, a cup of tea and enjoy.
Thanks again for listening.
References or notable mentions:
Laura’s original post: The Realities of Being a Twin
11 comments
Really interesting to hear, especially having grown up with boy twins, who also attempt to go their separate ways and end up doing similar things at the same time!
Also I know exactly the Don’t like anything feeling – and I get it when I’ve forgotten to drink/eat enough
No way, Louisa! You know the ‘don’t like anything’ feeling?! We must meet! xx
Hey Claire and Laura,
Awesome episode! I also have a twin brother and could relate to pretty much everything you spoke about. We also travel a lot, and like yourselves, have been stopped at passport control as the officers thought we were too “amusing.”
We also studied at the same schools (not university) and worked together on more than one occasion (receptionists at a hostel and waiters at restaurants and pubs), which caused lots of confusion to customers and co-workers!
It’s a pity we haven’t bumped into each other in any blogging conference, it would definitely have been funny! I once wrote a silly article about travelling with your twin that you guys might enjoy (http://www.slowspirit.com/en/2015/11/8-funny-facts-about-travelling-with-your-twin/ | Feel free to delete the link, it’s honestly not self-promotion, I just thought you might have a laugh!)
Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Guilherme
Thanks so much Guilherme! Love the fact that you have the same troubles as us! xx
This is fabulous, my favourite podcast so far I think! Really lovely to hear more about both of you, your sisterly chemistry together on these podcasts always makes me smile. Very interesting to learn about the perks and struggles of being twins, stuff I never realised! Thank you for sharing Claire and Laura 🙂 xx
Aww, thank you Emma! And thank you so much for taking the time to listen! xx
I never thought of some of this stuff. Then again, I could never imagine walking down the street and analyzing a stranger and being like, “Your teeth are whiter, but she’s like .5 inches taller” or something like that. That’s almost as bad as touching a pregnant lady’s belly.
Haha, I’m sure you’re far too polite, Leanne but people do it all the time! xx
As an identical twin myself, I immensely enjoyed your podcast and could identify with most of the points you made regarding “twindom”. However, as my sister and I are more than double your age (69) I can truthfully tell you that the twin bond never fades.
My sister& I also attended university together for a year. We switched classes and played tricks on our dates. We married within a year of each other and lived near each other. Our husbands became close friends and we spent nearly every weekend together and often traveled together! But I had children and she never wanted her own, although she is still very close to mine. I think it might have been fun to be pregnant together though!
Last year she underwent open heart surgery & I was prepared to give her blood or anything she needed. Like Claire (?) said, I got checked out to make sure I didn’t have the same issue!
We have always loved being twins, although we look less alike as we’ve grown older. We still enjoy travelling together, still finish each other’s sentences, and sometimes accidentally dress similarly. My life has been so much richer for having my identical twin!
Love following your adventures on IG and your blog, Laura & Claire! Keep it up!
Hi Leslie! Wow, that’s so interesting to hear your story – I love you’re still just as close 🙂 Thank you so much for tuning in – it means a lot xx
I’m late to the game of finding your podcast, but I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’m going back and listening to all of your earlier recordings and will definitely be a regular listener from now on. This episode on being a twin was so good! Had me laughing out loud as I was doing the dishes (and then my earbuds fell in the dish water because I have small ears and I can never get the earbuds to stay in, lol). Sorry, I digress… I am not a twin, but I do have a sister and even though I’m sure our bond is not the same as a twin sister bond, there were many aspects of your relationship that I can relate to with my sister. We’ll say the same thing at the same time and things like that. I also have a funny story about a different set of twins. I was a high school teacher for six years in the US and at one point had a set of identical twin sisters as students. I don’t have a lot of experience with twins, but these two were interesting, very nice girls, but couldn’t quite figure them out. I taught them for three consecutive years and even by the end of the three years, I could never tell them apart and felt so bad for always having to ask which twin they were (all the teachers in the school had this issue). For one thing, their names were very similar (both started with J) and they were both very shy and hardly talked (English was their second language) and didn’t make many other friends so they were always together. They dressed identically EVERY DAY!! It was so strange! I can see doing that when you’re like a toddler (as you mentioned your mom did), but as a teenager! I guess they wanted it that way; I don’t really know. It was difficult talking to them because they just wouldn’t open up, but I wish them well. Anyway, thought you might find that interesting. I’m guessing that that is probably not the norm for identical twins, lol.