The birth rate for twins is 31.0 per 1,000 live births, as of 2020. Out of four of every 1,000 births about half of those result in male-female twin pairs. Matthew and Mary Caroline Grimes, juniors at Conway High School are male-female twin pairs. Matthew and Mary Caroline grew up being best friends, they did everything together as kids, now being in high school their relationship with each other isn’t as close due to their different interests and being busy with school and sports. “Being twins with my sister will always make our relationship stronger even if we aren’t as close as we were as kids,” Matthew said. 

Being a twin can be exciting as well as hard.  “Having a twin means sharing a lot, as in birthdays, yearbooks, cars, etc, which I’d say taught me from a young age the skills of sharing with others even if you don’t want to,” said Mary Caroline. When they were younger they loved the idea of being twins, “now that I’m older I feel indifferent to it, nowadays I just see him as my brother rather than a twin I suppose,”  said Mary Caroline.   

Matthew and Mary Caroline are opposites when it comes to school, sports, and interests. The twins’ mother, Laura Grimes, says “ As they’ve grown, their differences in interests have revealed themselves.”  Mary Caroline mainly focuses on ballet and spends most weeknights dancing and is very dedicated to school, while as Matthew’s heart strives through basketball, he spends most of his afternoons practicing, while on weekends watching some sort of sport. Matthew also maintains good grades in school. “As we’ve grown up and changed it’s funny when people find out we are twins and have strange reactions because we are so unalike,” said Mary Caroline. As you become older it seems more like having a sibling rather than a twin because of your differences. “I can tell they still look out for each other, love each other, and most importantly, they both completed our family,” said Laura Grimes. Having a best friend your whole life is significant about being a twin, they will always carry a special bond between them.