Everyone assumes that my brother and I are the same person because we are identical

twins. Since we were young, my parents enrolled us in the same activities. Throughout our lives

we have been in constant contact with each other. We have been in the same classes, participated

in the same sports and extracurricular activities, and even shared the same birthday for eighteen

years (shocker!). As we have grown older I have accomplished things on my own and have

realized that I am an independent person with my own goals in life.

In my experience, people who are not accustomed to the individual natures of each

identical twin tend to classify them as the same person. It has become custom for people to call

my brother and I by the same generic nickname "Krafty", a name given by our old lacrosse

coach so he would not risk mixing up our names. I have accepted this nickname but it does not

define me. Our daily routine might be the same but we lead entirely different lives. For more

than seven years of my life, I played lacrosse with my brother. When I played my freshman year

of it in high school, I did not enjoy it as much as my brother. The next year he continued to play

lacrosse while I took a different path and chose to run track and field. I never have looked back

on this decision because I came to love the sport of track and field. It was a huge step forward

for finding my own independence because for once we were involved in completely different

activities. Some people think that having an identical twin suppresses both twins' individualities

but my brother and I are very different people. I believe that having a twin has helped me find

my own identity.

Without an identical twin I would not have the same motivation to delve deep into my

life to find myself. I could say he completes me but that is a colossal cliché. He completes my

individuality by helping me find it. If we were not classified as the same person by the general

public, I would not be as inspired to express my true personality, talents, and opinions as everyone in this world is entitled to do. My twin not only motivates me to compete in sports, but

also to work hard on my schoolwork, which ultimately increases my overall happiness. When I

was struggling in honors physics I felt trapped and discouraged. I contemplated switching down

into a lower level class but my brother continually encouraged me not too. There was a time

where I was so frustrated that I desperately wanted to make a guidance appointment to talk about

switching down. Only before I could do so he pulled me aside and told me that instead I should

stay after and talk with my teacher about ways I could improve. His confidence in me made me

want to improve. I was fortunate to have my brother because without his support I could not have

achieved my true academic performance. Turns out, instead of being the worst one in the class I

became a student that my friends turned to for help.

I am thankful for my brother. Although the world sees us as the same person we are

individuals destined to do different things in our lives, but we will always be connected by our

unbreakable bond that not many people are able to share.