Last updated on September 30th, 2021 at 10:19 am
Making friends and meeting new people has never been a difficult task for identical teen twins, Adaeze and Adaobi Opene. Breaking the boundaries with their keen sense of humor, it all started when they met their closest friend Ashley, at a very young age. “I began by introducing my sister & I, in British accents,” said Adaeze. “To get away from an awkward situation, I decided to paint Ashley’s arm. She laughed and ran after my sister with a paint brush. At the end, we were covered in red paint!”
This was just the very beginning to a successful journey through the social scene for these two teenagers. When they were younger, both Adaeze and Adaobi agree that they shared many friendships from the start. It wasn’t until middle school that they both realized, the time had come where they would separate, to hang out with different friends.
“We have definitely changed since then with relationships,” said Adaeze and Adaobi. “We’ve come to realize we ARE different, but we know no one could get in between our friendship, as sisters.”
Now that Adaeze and Adaobi are both attending different high schools, they’ve also found that they have become more independent as individuals.
“We are INDIVIDUALS. We are not the same people,” said Adaeze and Adaobi. “We talked about it, before my sister went off to a beach house with one of her close friends,” said Adaeze. “She left me for the weekend. So, I guess it was the separation that got to me.”
However, nothing can keep them apart all the time. In fact there are still many things that keep Adaeze and Adaobi close to this very day, including extracurricular activities such as: skating, dancing, playing tennis, cheering, singing, and swimming.
“We are very adventurous and never last a day without trying something new.” said Adaeze and Adaobi.
Another aspect that is fairly new to Adaeze and Adaobi is the use of social tools including computers, cell phones and social media. According to their mother, Elizabeth Opene, (in such an influential world), it is very important to monitor the internet, text messages, Facebook pages, and to make sure that everything is appropriate.
Elizabeth also taught Adaeze and Adaobi about the value of having such privileges.
“I did an excel sheet showing them a budget.” said Elizabeth. “I told them they could only do certain activities and that they can’t do everything. As a single parent, it costs too much. They have to share.”
Adaeze and Adaobi don’t mind sharing for the simple reason, that they feel privileged to have such social tools available to them at all.
“We feel that we’re blessed to even be able to have such technology,” said Adaeze
and Adaobi. “We honestly do appreciate that we’re able to communicate with my
dad, since he is in Africa. We haven’t seen him in a long time, and we’re very
blessed to even talk to him.”
Both of these teenagers are indeed blessed that they have so much going for them, and leading them in the right direction. In addition to meeting new people, they enjoy taking care of other children, and attending and giving back to the church. The key to keeping them organized, says Elizabeth, is staying in tune with their busy schedules by utilizing
calendars; calling their instructors; and checking in with them once a week about activities.
“(It’s important) to get on the same level with everyone, instead of waiting for the last minute.”
Staying on the level, for Adaeze and Adaobi, is a very important goal to have, in the ever
changing social world, for any teenage twin.
“Never forget that you’re your own person. Twins are sometimes stereotyped to be the
same. But in the eyes of a teenage twin, we aren’t.” said Adaeze and Adaobi. “Remember that your twin is pretty much the person that you can always go to, and know that they’re always there for YOU! The love we share between twins is unexplainable. Be proud to be a twin! So what, if people get you two confused! So what, if people compare the both of you! Just know that if you have a problem with the people who mention those things, know that you always have someone that you can tell, that is your best friend; your girlfriend; your
sister; your TWIN!”
