The magic of twin-ship

I’ve been sitting on posting these photos for seven months now. Mostly because I couldn't find the words to describe this lady right here and the bond we share. For those who know, you know who this is. Everyone else: Meet my (fraternal) twin sister, Lisa! When she came to visit me in London last June, I forced nudged her to do a photoshoot with me. And this is what we came out with. 

Being twins, we have so many photos together as babies and kids, but we actually don’t have that many together as adults. Before I moved, she was my primary blog photographer and spent most of the time behind the camera. I’m so happy she was willing to be on the other side this time around. Photoshoots can be scary but like most things in life, Lisa will do them if I prove that I didn’t die doing it first. This one we faced together. 

This wasn’t a regular photoshoot and these aren’t just photos. To me, they evoke emotions — ones we proudly show on our faces — and not just the calm and happy ones. They tell a story of our twinness and the many ways we co-exist in the world. From the cuddly to the sassy, to the unbreakable hand-holding and the pretending to be civilized outside a café photo, I hope you get a sense of what we’re truly like, not just through my words, but through the images too. 

This visit was incredibly special to me. Lisa is the most important person in my life; She’s my best friend and partner for life. If there was a geographical equivalent to the love I have for Lisa, London would be it. Spending time with the person I love most in the city I love the most was, well, a love explosion, if you will.

The lovefest lasted until the moment I had to unhinge my arms from her waist at the airport departures gate. Being a twin is not easy. On the one hand, Lisa and I (I’ll refer to us as “we” moving forward) get to experience a rare bond that only 3.3 per cent of people do. Being a twin is vastly different from having sisters or brothers, and lightyears different from being an only child. Only twins truly understand the bond we have, although not all twins remain close throughout their lifetime.

We’re in the ‘close forever’ box

We have had the immense pleasure and joy of being very close since babies. The love, friendship, and twin-ship (if you will) that we have is unparalleled to anything I’ve ever experienced. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her and I can always rely on her just the same. There’s been a lot of research done on twins. We’ve learned that twins bond to each other in the way non-twin children bond to their parents. So, when twins separate, they feel the same difficulties that non-twin children feel when they move out of their parents’ home. 

Twins living in different cities

We’ve not lived in the same city for two years now. When we first moved away from each other (Lisa moved away for school), we spent the first few months crying a lot while spending every moment we could on Facetime, mostly while the camera watched us do our everyday tasks (like a baby monitor of sorts).

It was really, really, hard

Living in the dark underbelly of the metaphorical rainbow twin-ship bridge exposed how close our relationship is. We’ve never existed without each other. It’s no wonder we didn’t really know how. And this is why ripping the twin separation band-aid was equally painful and crucial to our growth as people — and as twins. 

Moving to London 

This has been my dream for many years. I had to make many sacrifices to come here and live out this dream, and my family and friends back home have had to do the same. Lisa has been so supportive. Even though it was my choice to move here, she has had to suffer the pain of us being apart. Despite this, she’s always cheered me on and has put me above her own feelings and desires of wanting me home.  

We can feel the distance 

When I packed up my life to move to London, I wasn’t worried about the challenges that would come my way. I was mostly worried about how we would deal with being so far away. The timezone is one thing but being so physically far away is a hard one to swallow. As twins, we aren’t telepathic but we do have a strong energetic connection and we can feel the distance between us. 

How have we survived? 

Some days we do and sometimes we don’t. We have a strict FaceTime schedule. While I always know what she is up to and we get to see each-other’s face every day, I am missing out on the little things. Whether it’s doing groceries or cleaning the house, everything was easier when we did it together, and we made it fun. Seeing her face when I come home from work and her “bothering me” asking how my day is like a dog who’s greeted it’s owner at the door. These are the things I miss the most. 

PHOTOS BY LEANNE DIXON

Because of you, I am 

Lisa gives me life and she inspires me to be better. When life knocks me out, she is the reason I can keep going. The bond we share is forever. It’s infinite. It’s rare. I’m grateful to get to experience the magic of twin-ship.

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LUNCH MEMORIES AND SHADES OF GREY

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HAPPY BDAY SOUP! Meet my twin.

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you probably know that I have a twin. She occasionally pops up in my posts and I'm sure I talk about her more than I realize. If you're new here, welcome! And hey guess what? I have a twin! 

I've always wanted to dedicate a post completely to this amazing person and I felt that her birthday would be the perfect time. Now, before you ask, yes we really are twins. We're fraternal twins meaning we are simply two siblings who shared the same womb. That's why we don't really look like identical. I've always been grateful of this because we get all the benefits of being super close yet we have different personalities, style, and interests. 

Fashion is one interest that we definitely share. I think I got obsessed first and then she soon followed. She somehow managed to have half the amount of clothes as I do, which I attribute to her smart spending habits. Her style is kind of like mine where it can be outrageous, sequined, and glam, but then some days it can be quite casual. 

She is the talent behind most of my blog pictures and I always beg to snap a few of her. I now have quite the collection of her outfit photos, see below!  

Lisa is a Humanities student in university. She adores books and we have piles and piles throughout our apartment. She reads like real complicated literature. That's how I describe it, being more of a magazine and Twitter reader myself. I always admire her ability to sit with a good book for a few hours and get so absorbed in it. Something I am still trying to enjoy. 

Today is our birthday! 

I guess this is when I should tell you that I am three minutes older. Ah yeah. In many ways I do act older but I'm definitely not more mature. To this day, I tend to always do things first. I feel like I should test them out first so Lisa knows it's safe. She's my baby. 

I love being a twin. Growing up I always had someone to play (and fight) with, and now we're the best of friends. It's not all sunshine though. Our hearts break when we think about our eventual separation and imagining what it would be like to not live together. It's a real thing called twin separation! We googled it. 

What else can I tell you about her? Lisa has a really good idea of what is right and wrong. She is my voice of reason and I need to know her opinion on almost everything. She's a very loyal friend too. She truly cares in a genuine way and everyone knows that about her. Her heart is pure and intentions are always good. 

Her sense of style is always practical and comfortable with a sense of mystery. She loves the 80s- the music, fashion, everything. Her outfits tend to mix modern with vintage. Being very practical, she also looks for good quality materials and isn't one to pass up an awesome leather jacket, see below! She knows exactly where to spend and save money when it comes to shopping. She saves on jewelry, purses, t-shirts, and jeans, and spends more on coats, boots, and fancier tops that will last through many occasions. 

Why do I call her Soup? I get asked this a lot. It's a nickname thought up by my cousin Ashley. It began with Lisou. Then Lisoup. Then it was just Soup. And it stuck. Nicknames are something that you don't really have control over. Once they catch on, they stay.  

I hope you enjoyed getting to know my other half today and I'm sure you'll be seeing her on here some more! 

Happy Birthday Soupy, there's no one I'd rather share my bday with. 

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