Being a twin is a blessing until we are just seen as “the twins”. Not Miley and ____.  Even before we were born, little identical outfits had been chosen for us symbolically making us a pair. I lost my individuality before I was born. We lived normal lives as twins but as we started growing older, I realized that I didn't want to be “one of the twins”. Growing up was hard. We have shared everything we could share, clothes, rooms, makeup, food, and even a phone. While this created a bond, it also created issues.

We would always have the same things because my parents did not want us to argue over our stuff yet they never gave us the option to try to do things differently. Being a twin feels like you are wearing someone else’s face. Being a twin also meant that I couldn't get what I wanted. This was because my twin would want the same things I wanted. I just wanted to be different and stand out from her rather than stand out for being a twin.

We look alike so people would try to label us in any way to be able to recognize us. They would try to pinpoint any aspect of us that could be used to define us. It was hurtful because sometimes those names would be used in a negative way. We would get asked, “are you the smarter twin, or is she the smarter one?” Why couldn't I just be me? I didn't want to be seen as a joke just to make it easier for other people to recognize us. I am my own person and I have features that define me apart from my twin.

I wanted it to just be me for once and not Miley and ___.  I liked that we had different classes because I wouldn't get mistaken for her. This has made it difficult for me to find who I am apart from her. I wear her clothes because they fit and the responses I get from people are “are you _______ or Miley?”. If I do anything remotely similar to her, people assume that I am her. It's frustrating because we look very different now.

We wanted to be different. That meant trying to develop our own characteristics. As much as we could, we would try to be different whether it was dressing differently or doing things a certain way.  I've been compared to my sister every year in school, whether it was our grades or personality. It just didn’t seem to work, people seemed to always see us as a pair. I hated being labeled as the mean twin or rude twin. I wanted to just be seen as an individual.

Being a twin comes with perks but it's challenging to find yourself. I don't know who Miley is because of this. Miley could be smart, Miley could be funny, and Miley could be happy. However, Miley could also be sad without anyone knowing. Maybe if we had space, I could be my own self, no longer “one of the twins”.

© Miley. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.