Friday, January 21, 2011

Switch It Up

Anytime someone discovers that Brianna and I are twins, it is almost always guaranteed that a person will ask, “So, do you two ever switch places and play pranks on other people?” It is a question that I’ve been asked frequently and I really do wonder why so many people think that this is a common practice for twins to do.  I always question, “Do I look like I would do something like that? Or is it something a lot of people just assume about identical twins?”

I wish I had an interesting story to tell, like Brianna going out on a date with a past boyfriend of mine to see if he would notice the difference or I took a math test for Brianna because she wasn’t doing very good in the class, but I don’t. To tell the truth, Bri and I have never really thought about switching places.  However, when we were five years old, there was an exception. What we did was, in reality, pretty cruel.
When we were little, my great-grandma, who I called Nonny, used to take care of us when my mom went to work.  Bri and I would wear the same outfit every day in different colors and my mom would tell my Nonny who was wearing which color in the morning when she dropped us off. Bri and I were not known to misbehave, but one day we decided that it would be a good idea to switch our shirts without my Nonny’s knowledge. After she fell for it the first time, Bri and I got a kick out of tricking my great-grandma. I do not remember this since we were five at the time, but I’ve been told countless times that Bri and I really found it funny to confuse my Nonny and we continued to do so until my mom found out. We were in A LOT of trouble then and soon stopped. That was the last time Bri and I have ever switched places.
To answer the question, yes, I have switched places with my twin. However, it was for a very short period of time and we have not tried it since. I don’t know if we ever will. It might be pretty entertaining to try sometime, but I really can’t picture us doing that again. I can’t speak for other twins, but in my experience, switching places really wasn’t for me.

4 comments:

  1. I guess most people are simply curious about the antics of twins and ask since they wish that they had one too. Most people seem to think of twins and having a twin only in terms of the mischief they could cause and the pranks they could pull. =) sorry all us non-twins ask random and crazy questions

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  2. I believe most people think you would do that because of depictions of it, such as the Parent Trap or It Takes Two. I think if I had a twin I would definitely try it. Even with a sister that doesn't look like me and is three years younger, my family still calls us the wrong names... I can only imagine how that would be with identical twins!

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  3. Ever since I saw the 1998 version of the movie Parent Trap, I have harbored the fantasy of discovering my long-lost, freckled, redheaded twin sister at summer camp. We will delight in our mutual love of Oreos and peanut butter and undoubtedly get ourselves into crazy shenanigans that will definitely include switching places. Alas, I am still an only child (as far as I know). But if I ever find my British-accented twin, your account of actually switching places with your real twin will serve as some good advice!

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  4. I remember seeing your sister sometimes and I thought it was you and thinking it was really weird that you wouldn't answer when I said hi. Then I'd realize it was your sister and feel completely embarrassed. It's really interesting that this topic was your first post because I guess it really is the first misconception people have about identical twins. Hopefully your next one will be about twin mind reading tricks :P

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