Sister and Brother Bear

I had a Berenstain Bears thing going on. Did you honestly expect me to just drop it all of a sudden like a man without hands might drop an expensive vase? No! I promised to tell you all about my family, and I will live up to that promise.

But first of all--the poll! "What's your favorite type of nerd?" was the question. Options included:

1) the straight-A students who don't talk to anyone except themselves
2) the Anime fanatics
3) the Trekkies
4) the George McFly type nerds
5) the artistic nerds
6) the video game junkies
7) other

You can check out the results on the closed poll to the right, but I'll have you know in case you're too sleepy to slide your eyes six inches to the right that "the artistic nerds" won with seven votes. I'm not surprised, but I am very glad, because seven is a magic number, after all.

I'm also happy with the outcome of the poll because the truth is, I'm an artistic nerd myself. There. I've come out of the closet. I'm an artistic nerd! I said it! I'm not afraid of your judgements.

Now, how about I tell you about those "triplet siblings" of mine?

MY BROTHER

Having a twin is like sharing a life with someone. I'm barely exaggerating. Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be a twin? Fred and George from Harry Potter probably came to mind. (I shudder to think that any of your minds might have flashed to Dillon and Cole Sprouse. If you did think of them, don't tell me.) You probably think it's tons of fun to be a twin. You might even ENVY twins.

I would say "be careful what you wish for, because it might end up happening," but I don't think that's a huge danger in this situation. But it sounds like a bad Disney movie, doesn't it? Some everyday preteen is frustrated with his life and wants to be a twin. Then some vague magician character drops in and makes him a twin somehow or another. By the end of the movie, he decides that he wants his old life back and he learns all his lessons. You love the movie as a kid, and then five years later the actor is busted for steroids and gets Miley Cyrus pregnant. That's the way Disney works.

Erase all preconceptions you've ever had of being a twin. Yes, there are pros. Help with homework. I have similar humor as him. Yeah, it ends there. Cons? Need I name them all?

Even our closest friends and family members get our names mixed up. We're not seen as individuals. We're seen as twins. You never hear someone say "Oh, I know Christopher! He's nice." You hear "Oh, I know the blond twins! They're nice." We rarely get the opportunity to go places by ourselves. When I go to a friend's house, guess who was invited with me? Have you guessed yet? No? The answer is: my twin.

We're different people, but no one is willing to recognize that. That's my issue. Help me, Dr. Phil. Help me.

Onto the actual subject of my brother: he's an okay fellow. I'll admit--he is a lot like me. On the other hand, there are many differences between us. Main one being: he's a hippie. Actually, he's both a hippie and anti-technology. He's a vegetarian. He doesn't have a computer, a phone, e-mail, any accounts online, or an iPod. He listens primarily to jazz and country.

Oh God, I'm rambling. Sorry, guys. Onto the female member of our adorable trio.

MY SISTER


To the left is a photo of my sister. Some notable things about her: her favorite things to wear are her pink overalls, purple backpack, and pink ribbon, (from Target.) She is a bear, but we're okay with that, you know?

I don't think there are triplets in the world more different than me and my sister. Except maybe the hypothetical ones in the workbooks in Spanish class.

"Pedro y su hermano son gemelos, pero tienen muchas caracteristicas diferentes. Las escribe en el espacio de abajo."

I, personally, am an introvert. I'm also a nerd. I have a dry sense of humor. I have hair so blond that's it almost white. I'm tall. I'm usually rather quiet. My sister, usually referred to as Sister Bear, is an extrovert. She's pretty popular. Her sense of humor is the furthest thing in the world from dry. She's blond, but her hair is a dark blond, (if that's not an oxymoron.) She's very short. And very, very loud.

Are you getting the point?

Even though I go to private school, my school is pretty big. Nearly anyone who knows me knows that I'm a twin. But barely anyone knows that I'm the brother of my sister. And...she's guarding that secret with her life. But when someone does find out, they are stunned to say the least. It was as surprising to them as the revelation that Luke is Leia's brother, (which, I might add, probably made things really awkward between them after that passionate kiss in the fifth movie.)

And I'm suspicious of what my sister tells her friends about me, because they talk to my brother and me like we have mental illnesses. I'm not even joking. On second thought, everyone talks to me like that, but you get my point.

The life of a triplet is a bleak one indeed. Most disturbing experience of my life? The Triplet Convention of 2005 in D.C. So many dependent triplets doomed to spend the rest of their lives in the same house. That's why I hyperventilate and then run away when someone suggests that I start up a business with my brother after college.

But the most annoying thing about being a triplet? When people tell me how much I'm like my brother, I always say "We're not the same people. We're not clones or anything!" But then I remember that, scientifically, we are.

Thanks for listenin'. I'll talk to you another time.