In The United States just three percent of babies are born with a twin, but here at Garfield there’s a substantial amount walking the halls. To discover the depths of twin connection The Messenger set out to interview three sets of twins.
Addie and Mollie McLlaughlin are two identical twins in the senior class. The two have a close relationship and love spending time together. “I’ll always check in with Mollie before making a decision,” Addie said. Growing up together has created a special connection and ability to bounce values and ideas off one another, she expressed. Similarly, Mollie said, “I can’t buy an article of clothing without asking Addie.”
Being a twin comes with many misconceptions. “We’re similar in a lot of ways, but we are different people,” voiced Mollie. As the pair has grown up they’ve met different friends and ventured into different out-of-school activities. But at home, the connection between the two still remains strong. During arguments, the twins “always find themselves on the same side against their parents,” Addie said. “We do beef about the car though,” Mollie said. When the twins were younger, the pair had their fair share of fights. The two recounted violent experiences during the interview. “[Mollie] pushed me backwards down the staircase,” Addie said . Laughing, Mollie responded, “You stabbed me with a pencil!”
Next year the McLaughlin’s are unlikely to attend the same college. Communication is not their strong suit, the twins explained. The pair who have spent their whole lives together said they’ll likely struggle to text or call one another regularly. “It’ll be weird,” Addie said, “I feel like something is missing when [Mollie] is not with me.”
The identical twin chemistry of Addie and Mollie is different to the bond Linnea and Aaron Johnson share, another pair of senior twins. “One could say we’re opposite,” Linnea said. The two claim to disagree a lot, and they don’t share as much in common with one another. But where the pair does find time to bond is during family trips or when skiing together.
Despite their differences, the twins share a mutual understanding: “When our parents do something crazy I look at Aaron,” Linnea said,, “You know that look?” But is twin telepathy – the ability to exchange thoughts without physical communication – legit?
“Its bull****,” Linnea said.
“There are a lot of times, though, that I definitely know what she’s thinking about,” Aaron said. The pair then proceeded to try and guess the same animal, color, and fruit without success. For Linnea, having a twin has made her stronger when receiving insults and she’s become “really good at punching.” Going off to different colleges will separate the two for the first time. “I like to train her for when we’re not together,” Aaron mentioned. “I think that space might make us closer,” Linnea said. But even at Garfield, “We ignore each other anyway.”
For the Dain twins, the best shared memories are “when [Josh and I] are on the same vibe,” Isabel said. The dynamic senior duo’s favorite times together have been when they’re traveling, meeting new people, “or when we do something really crazy,” Josh said. The twins have a built in close friendship, but are excited for the possibility of attending different colleges.“It’s cool having somebody that was raised so similarly to you, but can still have a really different perspective,” Josh said.
“We have so many shared memories and experiences which will make the time away hard, but [the twin] connection will stay strong,” Addie said. Despite the distance of college, time away from a twin can bring them to appreciate companionship.
