High School Years Continued

A bit of a problem occurred during their junior year. Meredith my soccer player was very unhappy on the Varsity soccer team in high school.She decided to try out for the tennis team which was the sport that Melissa played since her freshman year. Meredith made the team which she was very happy about. Melissa was happy for her but felt that her territory was being invaded and of course they had to try out for different positions on the team. The thing that made this experience positive was that another set of twins in the high school that played soccer were also unhappy with the soccer team and they also tried out for the tennis team and became part of that sport as well. I believe this high school girls tennis team was the only tennis team in the county with two sets of twins. It was very unique. Overall it was a great experience for the girls. Melissa became the number one singles player in her Senior year and Meredith became the number two singles player. Both girls became co-captains of the tennis team and that decision was made by the athletes of the team. I think Melissa was disappointed in that decision because she was the only 4 year player on the team and I am not sure she wanted to share that spot with her sister who had only been on the team for two years. It did work out and they had a great time planning events and surprises for the team. In the end I think Melissa was glad that Meredith was there to help share the fun and the drama of being a captain.
     Senior year was exciting as well as stressful. College decisions, applications, retaking the SATS and trying to get 5's on the AP exams left little time to relax. Both girls already had an idea of what they wanted to do for careers, Melissa was always interested in cooking and saw herself owning her own business and Meredith loved sports and writing and she envisioned herself as becoming a sports commentator or writer. (both girls became managing editors of the sports section of the high school newspaper and in middle school did live broadcasts for their school news station)
       The twins missed North Carolina very much and at one point were determined to spend their college years back on familiar ground. While they made many friends in high school they felt their forever friends were still in North Carolina. They were bombarded with solicitations from all kinds of colleges and universities. Everyday in the mail they would receive at least 4 items each. It got to be ridiculous. Then the phone calls started coming. Meredith would get a phone call from one college and they would offer her money and she would hang up with them and then the phone would ring after that for Melissa from the same school offering her a different amount of money. This went on for months. Both girls decided to apply to two of the same colleges but for the most part they applied to different schools. Melissa wanted to major in business but concentrate in entrepreneurship. There are not as many colleges or universities that offer that so she had to really look into the programs at the colleges she thought she would want to attend. Meredith wanted to be in the school of journalism and did not want to find herself in a situation where she would get into a university and then have to apply to the school of journalism, which in many of the larger universities is what you have to do. Meredith was always the child that wanted to go to a bigger school, Melissa was not she wanted the smaller environment.
       The economy was really taking a turn for the worst at this point and the students that normally would be applying to any and every school were now applying to the state institutions which made the competition even stiffer. The school system the girls attended is ranked number one in the United States. The classes they took were not just average classes and their GPA was above normal, they were athletes, volunteered time doing community service and never were in trouble.
        I should back up a little, over spring break in their junior year of high school we did the college visit trip. We talked about what schools they would be interested in looking at and all of them were in North Carolina so we made appointments with UNC Chapel Hill, Elon, Duke (which has always been Melissa's favorite) and Wake Forest (which is in the town we lived in ) Meredith fell in love with Chapel Hill and of course Melissa loved Duke. The girls had also visited some of the schools in Maryland as well. Meredith went ahead and applied to Chapel Hill, Melissa did not apply to Duke although she really thought about it but it was very expensive yearly and when she researched the majors they offered they really did not have exactly what she wanted. Of course applying to Chapel Hill out of state is tough because they only accept 16% out of state students so the chances are slim to none of actually getting in but of course if we had stayed and not moved to Maryland she probably would have gotten in. Anyway the girls helped each other get through the rejection letters and were happy for each other when they received their acceptance letters. At this time it would mean that these girls that have been together all of their lives would now be going their own separate ways because they did not get into any of the same colleges. Several of their friends were going to college in North Carolina as well but to a school that we had heard of but were very against because we lived close to it and it was just a dismal looking school from what we remember about it.
      I happened to be in North Carolina with my older daughter and decided to go take a look at this university that everyone was raving about. I drove to the campus that had been a hole in the wall when we lived in North Carolina only to see a beautiful, magnificent campus like no other. I mean we had toured some of the most beautiful campuses in North Carolina and yet here was this gem tucked away in High Point, North Carolina.

Finding Information on Twins in their teens

     As a mom of twin daughters that are now 18, I wanted to read some information on circumstances that are now occurring in our lives. I went to a local bookshop to find out what printed material and research had been done on teen through adult twins, surprisingly nothing out there. At that moment I knew that there must be other moms and parents out there looking for some answers.
     I have twin daughters, Melissa and Meredith. They were born in North Carolina and that is where they were raised for most of their lives. Both girls are well adjusted and have been very close growing up. They basically played the same sports, received the same grades in school and had many of the same friends.When they were 15 we moved to Maryland. The adjustment for them was difficult. They were use to a more layed back lifestyle and now not only were they thrust into a bustling environment, they had to make new friends and attend a new high school where they did not know a soul.
Since both girls are athletic they tried out for sports teams the summer before their freshman year(each one a different sport) Melissa became the youngest member on the girls varsity tennis team and Meredith was on the Girls Varsity soccer team. I was happy that they found their own niche.
       Attending the games was a challenge especially when they were both on the same day but usually not at the same time. The tennis matches were usually at 3:15 while the soccer was at 5:00 or 7:00pm. Through this though I was able to meet alot of the parents and players on both teams.I was excited for my girls because I thought that this would make the transition from North Carolina to Maryland so much better for them. Both of my twins also became members of the Varsity swim team and Melissa also made the JV softball team in the spring of her freshman year as well. So I felt that they were really getting off to a good start!