I guess it’s not exactly normal for siblings to be on good terms. But my brother, Sameer, is my best friend, and it’s been that way since the day we were born. It could just be a twin thing though; I mean no one else except Sameer would nerdily refer to us as DC’s Wonder Twins and then put their hand out to fistbump. Which I grudgingly accept.

As a kid, my brother was my automatic playmate. We used to spend hours on end in our living room, making custom space ships out of mismatched lego pieces. My brother was always better at building intricate, little creations than I was, while I was good at prying lego pieces apart when they got stuck. Sameer and I loved to collect “minifigures” to take them apart and reconstruct our own characters. Entire worlds were built by us. Even now, we have a closet filled with legos and complete sets because that was our childhood.  

When we were younger, before middle school, we practically had the same voice. Our voices were high-pitched and squeaky. Throughout elementary school, I remember talking with my grandparents on the phone, and they would always ask, “Is it Yasmin or Sameer?” Eventually, Sameer’s voice became deeper as he got older.

Although a twin has its benefits, we definitely don’t benefit from twin telepathy or ESP (extrasensory perception), those are just misconceptions about twins. On some rare occasions, we have been found to say the exact same thing or be thinking along the same lines. Those are coincidences, and occur because we know each other very well and share the same interests. Sameer and I used to play tricks on others by convincing them that we possesed telepathy. Believe or not, it worked very well.

Having a twin is convenient. We know the same people, have the same teachers and learn the same things. Occasionally, we end up in the same classes together like PE in 8th grade. It was entertaining to play basketball with my twin during free time. Also, it’s nice to have someone to bring back homework while I’m sick. I hate to admit it, but more often than not, he’s also the one being left to do the dishes.

Not only is my twin convenient, but he’s supportive. He listens to my one-sided rants about things that happen in school or the amount of homework we get. Sameer is an awesome listener, which is something I deeply value.

Although a lot of things have changed, Sameer is my best friend. He’s been here for me all my life, and I can’t imagine my life without a twin brother.

Maybe there is some sort of “twin connection” that makes us so close, but I think it’s just the result of living under the same roof for almost 15 years. Any two people can be close like we are without having to be multiples or even relatives. Best friends can be found anywhere, and I just happened to find mine two minutes after I was born.