Twins share the same faces, same birthday, same genes.

Over three percent of US births are twins and Waterford High School has more than 10 sets of twins. Feelings of twin life, however, can be complicated.

Twins rely on each other for support. There’s always going to be a person there for you to talk to and fall back on. You can rant to them without having to explain everything about it. It’s hard to find that within other people because it doesn’t feel the same. 

Twins will grow up together but will still have to branch out to other people; however, that can be hard because they are always relying on each other for a best friend. Leigha Griwold says that “Obviously nobody is going to be as perfect as we are for each other and so expectations for the people around us are just high. I don’t think of Taylor as my sister; she is like my everything” 

Finding a bond as unique and close as a twin is. Creating a connection with someone else is much more different then having someone with shared experiences and a deep understanding of who you are that is hard to replicate. 

People often get identical pairs of twins confused because they look very much alike. Taylor and Leigha Griwold say that “There are pictures I don’t know which one that is, it confuses us sometimes and it’s surprising.  Now we have a hair difference.” Taylor’s hair is dyed a dark brown color while Leigha’s hair is dyed lighter brown/blonde color. This makes it easier for others to tell them apart from afar. 

Twins grow up together and learn everything together, but how does that affect their individual life? They could be interested in similar things because of the way they grew up.

Jackie Bono is a teacher at Waterford high school. She teachers digital art and photography along with being an advisor for the yearbook. She has an identical twin sister named Lisa who is a graphic designer for CSMI in Massachusetts. 

Jackie Bono says, “Growing up, we were a very digital centered family, we always were using new media”. 

While growing up the twins were introduced to digital art. They have taken a different interest in two different types of art but still relatively the same with different elements. 

Being a twin definitely has a big impact while growing up, but there still are negative aspects about having a twin. Taylor Griswold talks about how it impacted her social skills while growing up.

Taylor Griswold said,  “We never really learned how to make friends in kindergarten because we always had each other. We were each other’s only friend, so that skill that you learn when you are 4 or 5, we just never really learned that.” The advantage of always having someone to be there for you does come with disadvantages. Being a twin as a kid can be difficult when it comes to developing the social skills that others learn.

Despite troubles with social skills, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the Griswolds say that having someone that has a deeper understanding of who they are outweighs the troubles they faced while growing up. 

After diving deeper into the twins’ world, it is a lot more special than just having a similar face.