What’s it like to be a twin? People often ask me if my twin sister and I look alike, think alike, act alike. Mi-ae and I were born a minute apart: me first, her second. As we grew up, we constantly bickered over little things like who sat in the front seat of Mom’s car, or who carried the pink umbrella on rainy days.


Even though people around us know we’re twins, they often ask, “Where is your other half?” or “Which one are you?” or – most ridiculous of all – “Is one of you smarter than the other?” If I had a dollar for every one of these absurd questions, I would be rich.

When I was little, I hated, more than anything else, being forced to be one of a pair, a copy of someone else; a “Twin.” I never enjoyed the reactions (“Aww, how cute!”) when my mother dressed us in matching outfits. So I always wore different styles and colors, joined different circles of friends, played different sports, and even attended different schools.

Because I worked so hard to be different, we have grown up to be two different people. Mi-ae is great at math. She has won awards at her school and in national math contests. She is introverted and studious. She always earns good grades. She’s good with directions and at fixing broken MP3 players. I, on the other hand, am good at drawing pictures and at composing music. I am active and sociable unlike my sister. I love learning foreign languages, especially English. Unlike Mi-ae, I am terrible with directions and I do not know the first thing about what to do with a broken MP3 player. We each have our own values and personalities and each distinguishes us from each other.

But having a twin does come with some advantages. Since we are about the same size, we share the closet and wear each other’s clothes. More than once, we “shared” our homework assignment. Having a twin is living with a best friend (most of the time). We finish each other’s sentences, share the same thoughts, dream the same dreams, and speak the same words at the same time.

At times, when we were younger, we hated each other. We were so obsessed with the idea of being treated as separate people. Back then, I thought I could be the center of the attention if Mi-ae were not there. But now I see that, without her, I would be incomplete. Even though I still hate it when people cannot tell us apart, I cannot imagine life without my sister. She is my friend, my family