Sierra: We're the only female identical twins,
where one's a primordial dwarf
and one's not.
Sienna: People do often
think I'm younger,
and so they,
they treat me differently.
Sierra: Oh my goodness,
[laughter]
Sienna: Nothing changed.
My name is Sienna Bernal,
I am 20.
My name is Sierra Bernal,
I'm 20 years old.
And we're twins.
Sierra: Sometimes whenever
people find out that we're twins,
they'll ask,
"Oh okay,"
"but how old is she?"
So a lot of times even after,
we've established that we're twins,
they'll ask her if she's younger.
Sienna: I'm like,
"That's how twin works."
"We're the exact same age."
Sienna and Sierra share everything.
but there's one thing
that sets them apart from one another.
Sienna has a rare genetic condition.
And Sierra doesn't.
Sienna: I have what's called primordial dwarfism.
Which just basically means I'm small and proportionate.
kind of like a child,
but not.
I'm not a child, I'm actually an adult,
I do look like a child.
clarify that people.
Chrissy: When Sienna was born,
they actually said that
she would probably not make it
past 24 hours.
We we got told that a lot.
And then
they said if she did survive,
which
they gave her a 10% chance
of making it out of the hospital,
they said that she would most likely be a vegetable.
Joey: Sienna has Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum,
which is the membrane
that separates your left and right hemisphere
of your brain.
they expected
to
cause her to be a vegetable.
I think it's done something to
to her brain.
I could give her a quarter,
a dime and a nickel,
and she couldn't tell me that it's 40 cents.
But ...
when it comes to theology,
you can read a Bible verse to her
and she can break it down for you
and tell you exactly what it means.
I find that pretty wild.
Some of the simplest things
she really has the hardest time grasping hold of.
Sienna: Me and Sierra we have pretty good bond.
We like to
watch TV together,
go out together.
And it's sometimes it feels weird when we're apart.
The twins are incredibly close,
but due to Sienna's condition,
they're often treated quite differently.
Sienna: People do often think I'm younger,
because she's like
[inaudible]. And so they think she's like
older sister.
and so they they treat me differently.
They got her normally.
And then when they talk to me like a kid,
Or like they are like,
"Oh, how are you?" I am like,
"I am fine,"
"I am"
"20 years old".
Sierra: I'm extremely protective over my sister,
which I think has made her a little sassier
because she knows, "Sierra's going to take care of it,"
"if there's a problem."
Sienna: You might think I'm a diva but that's okay.
The twins share a lot,
but they have both pursued quite different passions.
Chrissy: Sienna is all about Disney,
all about mermaids.
She could
stand up in front of a room of 200 people
and give an hour and a half long speech about mermaids
and by the time she is done
you would think mermaids are real.
Sienna: I like mermaids, Okay?
I'm just going to put it out there. All right?
They're super unique and they're different.
Need my tail, oh okay.
They're kind of like two worlds.
They're like, they got the human and the fish.
really took in the best of both.
My sister taught me how to swim.
The first time and then she taught me how to swim again.
because I forgot.
My sister taught me to do a lot.
My own condition actually does make me cold a lot.
So that's why I wear a jacket in like this.
I'm wearing because I can easily get cold in cold water.
I always wear layers and layers of clothing,
when I swim.
that way I try to keep warm
as much as possible.
Dallas is fabulous but I'm trying to stay warm.
while Sienna is everything mermaid,
Her sister is a country musician,
who performs across the US.
Sierra: I started writing songs when I was about 12.
I actually write songs for other people as well.
I play guitar, I play mandolin,
I play the horn, I play piano,
and I play...
a little bit of ukulele.
I have a band.
I love my band.
They're so great. They've been with me for years.
I mean, this is my job and I absolutely love it.
And today her sister is coming to see her perform
at a local event.
Sienna: Some little people
have really tiny and small ears,
that's why I'm hard of hearing.
because my ears and my bones are so small.
So I can't hear very well.
I like to listen to her,
and I do tell her like,
"It's a good song, like hey you did good here".
I'm okay,
I like this song,
this song is probably need to do some work,
and I like it.
I want to graduate college,
and going to get a degree
and I want to start
a mermaid career eventually.
Joey: She has days when she's
literally said to me you know,
"Dad, why did God make me so small?" and I just said,
"Maybe because if he made you full size,"
"you'd try to take over the world."
As far as being proud of
both Sierra and Sienna goes, I have
I've never been more proud.
Sienna: [Inaudible]
I tell people like,
follow your heart, what your heart tells you.
That's what I'm trying out.
I'm trying follow my heart to where it leads me.
Take a chance, you only live once.
You might as well go big or go home.