Frat-ernal twins

This blog was written by one of my good friends Porter Sproul about his experience of being a twin in a fraternity. Porter is the President of Sigma Chi, Kappa Iota Chapter at Southern Utah University. 

When I started out in my fraternity, the part I was most excited for was receiving a big brother. A big brother is someone who is a constant support for their little brothers, and the relationship I developed with mine was one of best ones I've made since coming to college. At the time we went through the big and little ceremony I found out that I was going to be sharing my big brother with one of my pledge brothers- I was about to have my very own fraternal twin. I wasn't sure how to feel until I found out it was Jeong Su Park- then I was ecstatic!

When Stuart was revealed to us as our big brother, we were so excited and hit it off immediately. We started having grill outs at the fraternity house and early mornings sometimes consisted of coffee outings. The relationship we had was strong and even though Park transferred and Stuart graduated we are still close.

I'm so grateful to have the relationship with my twin that I have. Park is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and I know he's always there for me if I need him to be- even from across the country. Twins for life, brothers forever!

Twin Brothers Poem

I recently was shown this poem by Michelle Salazar by a good friend. It perfectly describes how I feel about being a fraternal twin. 

Twin Brothers

I want to be noticed
For the person that's me.
My brother is special too,
Why can't we both be?

We don't like the same things
We don't always agree
We are two individuals
Brother and Me.

We don't mean to be rivals
Just friends and brothers
Unique and separate spirits
Defending each other.

We share much in common
It's easy to see-
I am not my brother
And he is not me.

Being a twin is not always easy
Why is everyone so blind?
I may look like my brother,
But I am one of a kind.

Conjoined Twins

I've always realized how lucky I am to be alive. I'm also so lucky because I was not born conjoined like hundreds of other twins are.

Conjoined twins are born 1 in every 200,00 births and have between a 5 and 25% chance of survival. They are also always the same gender and are identical.

There was a story from CNN yesterday about a set of twins who were conjoined and died due to the complications and can be found here.

As a twin I'm so lucky I am healthy and alive unlike other twins who have complications at birth. My parents also remind of us of our luck and we shouldn't take it for granted.

Laughing Twin Babies

So whenever Anthony and I start to laugh in unison people think it's the funniest thing, which I have no idea why its so funny. In honor of Finals Week here is a little pick me up video that will hopefully make you laugh and relieve some of that built up stress. Happy studying everyone!

Twins in the Classroom

So in the first grade, my twin brother and I were in the same class. Needless to say that was the only class we were in together until our freshman year of high school. It was nice to have my own space to learn and become my own person, but it was nice to have classes with him especially on days I was too sick to go to school.
Below is an infographic from http://visual.ly/twins-classroom about twins in classrooms and if they do better together or separately. What do you think? Should twins stay together in the classroom or be separated?

#WCW Twins Edition

Growing up I used to love watching Sister, Sister and seeing Tia and Tamera Mowry go through various life situations and the real life problems and joys of growing up with a twin sibling. They are probably my favorite set of real life twins and are a great inspiration of the relationship I hope to have with my brother when we get older. 

Who are your favorite set of celebrity twins? 

#twins #WCW

Are Twins Hurting the Economy?

Every once in a while I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) to stay updated with current world events while I clean my room. One story that appeared on NPR on November 30 peaked my interest immediately while I was listening.

Economist Mark Rosenzweig said twins are hurting the economy. He stated facts about how twins who weigh less when they are born are more likely to be less educated and make less money than non-twins. He also states twin cause more stress on families and are more expensive, especially with healthcare.

Although the part about the money and the stress is true, I don't necessarily believe that because I weighed less when I was born (4 lbs 10 oz) I will be less educated and make less money in my life. I think people make their own fate in this world. I also don't believe twins are bad for the economy and I don't think he has strong enough backing for his argument.

To read more about this click the link here. What do you think? Are twins hurting the economy?

Thomas Means Twin

So for those of you don't know, my real name is Thomas. Something else most people don't know is that my name in Hebrew means twin, which is super ironic considering I am a twin.

I was given my name from my dad, whose name is also Thomas, who was not a twin. I always thought I was given my name from one of the hundreds of saints in the Catholic Church named Thomas, but it wasn't until I was older I found out where I got my name and even later when I found out what my name actually meant.

Although my name wasn't given to me because of its meaning I think its cool that I can directly relate to my name's meaning. I think it's funny how my Dad passed along the name to me without even realizing how perfect it would fit me.

Twin Sisters Reunited By Facebook

If you have not heard about this story, by now I highly suggest that you go and read the story from the link below. Basically what happens is these twin sisters find each other Facebook after one sister found the other in a short film on YouTube. Personally, I could not imagine spending my entire life away from my twin or realizing 20 plus years into my life that I had a twin. I'm so glad that they found each other and they now get to know each other better.

If you have not read the story yet here is the link. Tell me what you think of this story and leave me comments below with your thoughts.

#Twinning

So what exactly does twinning mean? According to Urban dictionary the term means "A take on the popular term "winning," it refers to identical thoughts or behavior, as well as to brilliance."

To my twin brother Anthony and I it meant winning as twins or doing something exceptionally well as a twin. For example, whenever Anthony and I actually get to see each other and hang out I consider that a twinning moment because it's always a win when I get to see my brother, but we do it the best.

Tell me what do you think twinning means? Tell me below in the comments.

Twin Problems

As I was searching the internet a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Grayson Dolan's Vine channel. I had previously stumbled upon his Vine videos, but when I visited his channel again I found this great Vine series called Twin Probs.

The series shows depictions of real life twin problems. I seriously was crying of laughter after watching all of the videos. Each one was relatable to problems I had had with my twin brother. I highly recommend it to all my friends who are twins because I'm sure you can relate.

Here is the link to his Vine channel. Make sure to check out his videos and let me know what you think of his Twin Probs videos.

Common Twin Questions

Over the last few weeks I've been taking notes about common questions people ask me about being a twin. It really doesn't both me when people ask me, but it's actually kind of surprising to realize that a lot of people always ask the same questions.

Here is my list of top questions I'm asked about being a twin:

• If I pinch you does your twin feel it? (The answer is no. Just saying.)
• What's it like being a twin?
• Which one of you is older? By how long?
• Do you have a secret twin language you speak to each other in? 
• So you have the same birthday and everything?
• Why don't you guys dress the same?
• Which one is the funny one and which one is the serious one?
• What does fraternal mean? 

What other questions do you have for me about being a twin? Leave your questions in the comments below. 

Dressing Twins Alike

As a fraternal twin, I am totally against dressing twins alike. Sure, Anthony and I were pretty cute being dressed in the same clothes until we were about 4 years old, but after that I wanted to be my own person.

One of the stereotypes of being a twin is that you like to dress alike, which in my case is untrue. Anthony and I always had a similar style but we avoid wearing the same exact thing on the same day.

I recently asked my parents why they dressed my brother and I the same and they said the main reason was so they could always find us if we walked off and so we could be easily identifiable. My mom also said because we deprived her of sleep every night it was easier for her to dress us up the same (our punishment for not being good babies).

I personally think once twins reach the age of four, they should be able to decide for themselves if they want to dress the same or not. By dressing the same it deprives twins of being individuals and expressing that individuality. It also can cause the twins to become co-dependent on each other for everything including how to dress. Personally, I don't want to be that 70 year old twin that still lives with my twin brother and we still dress the same.

So what do you think? Should twins be forced to dress alike? Leave your comments below and let me know what you think.

Cons of Having a Twin

In my last blog I discussed the benefits of having a twin, but I haven't always felt that way.

Growing up I always felt compared to my brother and it felt like a constant competition when we were around our family. It always bothered me when Anthony would get more attention than I would for doing something great like a piano recital or winning an award. It's not that I wasn't happy for him it just was annoying when my family would sit in front of us and rank our accomplishments as to whose were better. I would always feel that I needed to one-up my brother at all times.

It also bothered me how I always had to share everything. It didn't get bad until we got older when we had to share our first car. I constantly had activities and practices after school so I got the car most of the time, but every once in a while the car would be magically gone when I got out of practice. It was annoying to say the least.

I also always hated wearing the same clothes as Anthony, which I'll talk more about in my next blog post. Despite all these setbacks, growing up with Anthony wasn't too bad.

Pros of Being a Twin

Someone recently commented on my blog and asked me if I had the choice whether to be a twin or not, if I would still want to be a twin. After some thought I think I could not imagine my life without being a twin. Sure there are disadvantages, but there is something special about being a twin.

There are a lot of benefits to being a twin. When we were younger Anthony and I developed a trust amongst each other which still exists the older we get. It's not really something I can describe very well but because I've known Anthony my whole life I know we have a mutual trust in each other to always be there for each other (well most of the time anyway).

Growing up with Anthony and going to school with him always gave me a sense of security. I know whenever I felt lost or needed a friend, he was always there for me and could relate to what I was feeling. This really helped when we started high school and we basically knew no one except for ourselves but having him there made me feel comfortable.

Because we played sports together growing up we got to experience the sense of victory together which made our bond stronger. Especially in high school tennis when Anthony was my partner I knew I could count on him and winning united us together. On the rare occasion when he lost match I'll just say it was not a good day to be at our house. But through winning and losing it gave us the relationship we have now, which is a close one.

Now that I listed some of the good points I invite you to come check out my next post which will talk about the disadvantages of being a twin.

My Life as a Fraternal Twin

My name is Tommy Gugino and I am a senior communication major at Southern Utah University from Las Vegas, Nevada. For the entire three years I've been at SUU very few people have known that I am a fraternal twin.

Anthony and I were born 2 minutes a part on January 14, 1993. We've been extremely opposite since the day we were born. I am brown-haired and brown-eyed with dark olive skin while Anthony is blonde-haired and green-eyed with light colored skin. I am right handed and he is left handed. 

If you ask any of our friends we grew up with they will tell you how extremely different we are. Even though we are very different, growing up we did a lot of things together like play tennis and volleyball, volunteer at our church, and in high school Anthony and I were yearbook editors. 

Growing up with a twin was nice because you always have someone who was your age who could relate to you and there was always someone there to hang out with. It also became annoying at times because when you're a twin people automatically compare one twin to the other. 

I'm hoping in writing this blog I can clear up a lot of the misconceptions of being a twin. Are you a twin? Tell me about your experience in the comments below. Have you always wanted to be a twin? Tell me about it in the comments below. Ask me about my experiences and I'll be sure to share my answers in upcoming blogs.