Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a twin? Well, sophomores Alexa and Grace can tell you! Although twins aren’t anything new to Classical Academy, Alexa and Grace are quite unique: not only are they identical, but they’re what you call “mirror twins.” Identical twins are two people who come from a single zygote, but mirror twins are rare because they don’t become two separate people until 9-10 days in the womb, compared to regular identical twins who separate at 4-6 days. This causes them to have more similar features as they continue to develop.

Mirror twins often grow to have opposite dominant hands, one being left handed and the other right. Their faces also tend to mirror each other, having moles and freckles on opposite sides of each other. Yet even though their faces seem to mirror each other, they still look very similar.  In fact, when Grace and Alexa were asked if people ever get them confused they both said, “Yes! Everyday!”

Before high school, Alexa and Grace spent their whole life in homeschool. Last year, they transferred from their online school program to Classical Academy. “In the beginning it was hard because everyone was pretty shy,” Grace said. But, although it was hard for them to make friends at first, eventually they fit in perfectly. When asked what their favorite part of their school day was, they agreed it was talking to friends. They don’t have trouble in any of their classes, either. “All of our classes are really easy!” Alexa said. Not only do they take the same classes, but they apparently have the same grades in each of them!

But despite their many shared qualities, Alexa and Grace are still very different. “We’re kind of polar opposites in a lot of ways,” Alexa said. When it comes to their futures, they also have different aspirations. Alexa wishes to become an engineer, while Grace aspires to be a doctor.

Only their differences could’ve brought on their unique desires in life: they both want to go to college after high school, but have different ideals and goals that they wish to achieve. Even identical twins can be completely different from each other, having their own unique qualities exclusive to them.

From their daily lives to their aspirations, Grace and Alexa prove to be different in a lot of ways. And even though they are identical twins, they both have something different to offer to the world.