Natoya Lacy Professor Rebecca Agosta English 1102 7 February 2014

The Beginning: Nature Identity On September 26, 1995, my twin brother and I were born to Gloria and Billy Lacy. His name is Nicholas and mine Natoya. I was born at 7:58 am and Nick at 8:00 am. We have the same initials which are NBL. Our parents would tell us a story of how when we were babies, we would be placed in opposite directions in our crib. When they would come to check on us, we would be facing the same way sleeping beside each other. This showed how close we were with each other at an early age. We also got into small fights as well. One day we were at our grandmothers house about to take a family portrait when Nick decided to hit me in my face. I started crying, and my parents told me to hit him back. I did and then he started crying and the picture was taken. This shows how even though we were close we were still sometimes mean to each other.

Twin Traits: Yep, were close! Nick and I find it very unique that we are twins. When we tell others that we are twins, they assume that we have some type of special twin powers. They also assume that we are really close. We do not consider ourselves to have special powers, but we are really close. This past summer he tore his meniscus in a football practice at NC State. I had a pain in my knee and the next day he called telling what had happened to him. I do not consider this a special power, but something unique that happens to us. When I was little, he would hurt himself and start to cry. I would feel that same pain in whatever body part he hurt and also start to cry. We do feel each others pain, literally.

Typical Questions Nick and I got matching shirts for Christmas. We sometimes like to not only be twins but dress like them also. When people hear that we are twins, they always think that we are identical. We are not identical because we dont look alike and because male and female twins are fraternal. When I was talking to one of my friends, she asked do you and Nick get mad at each other? My answer was yes. We are regular humans, we were just in our mothers womb at the same time. We have gotten mad at each other plenty of times, but those arguments tend to bring us even more closely than we were before. As a senior in high school, I always got the question, are you and Nick going to the same college? My friends figured that since we were twins that we would stay together. That didnt happen because he goes to NC State and I go to UNC Charlotte.

Wrong Assumptions I think that being a twin is a huge part of my identity. You would not know that I was a twin by just looking at me or my brother. There is tons of scholarships out there for just being a twin also. A lot of people probably wouldnt believe that I am my age if I didnt have a twin or the proof. The adults think that I am in middle school because of my size. Almost everybody that finds out that we are twins assumes that Nick is the oldest. I am older than Nick by two minutes, but he is a couple inches taller and definitely some pounds bigger than me. Sometimes people think that my twin is a female before I tell them that he is a guy. In high school, when my friends found out things about me like that I sing and play the piano they often assumed that Nick could too. He can sing, but he cannot play the piano. They assumed we liked the same NBA teams. I like the Lakers and Nick doesnt really have a favorite team.

Twin Moment Nick and I are usually not treated different because we are twins. We get asked a lot of questions like are yall close? and do yall get along? When we have a twin moment, it does not come as a surprise to my family. Most of the time they just look over it. One example of a twin moment was a time when Nick was thinking of a song in his head. Before he was able to sing it aloud, I had started singing that exact same song. Something might happen and Nick and I will think the same thought. I will ask him what he was thinking and our thoughts will match. We always get excited when something like that happens. Conclusion In conclusion, I love being a twin. It is definitely a huge part of who I am. It adds on to my unique characteristics. I love telling people that I am a twin because their reaction is priceless. We are different though. Nick can dance and me, not so much. Even though we both played sports in high school, Nick has chosen to continue his career in football where I have chosen not to continue my career in basketball or track. I like broccoli and Nick doesnt. He likes spinach and I dont. I like the galaxy, Nick likes the iphone. These differences not only sets us apart from other people but also from other twins. I love having this nature identity.