In 2017, 4-year-old preschoolers from Miami went viral online for insisting they could not just be best friends or mere sisters. Jia Sarnicola and Zuri Copeland have been telling everyone they’re twins, and they have a long list of reasons to back up their stand. According to the girls, who are now 6, if their birthdays are practically the same day, they are both four years old, they are the same height and share the same soul, why would anyone doubt that they’re twins?
Their birthdays are actually two days apart, June 3 and June 5, but the girls have refused to be told otherwise and they’ve celebrated together every year.
Their moms, Ashley Sarnicola and Valencia Copeland have been doing a great job of indulging them whenever they insist on wearing the same outfits. Zuri is African-American with black hair while Jia is Caucasian with bright blonde hair. These beautiful young ladies went viral for teaching the world a simple yet valuable lesson; the concept of race is only supposed to describe humans based on shared physical similarities. There should be no further exclusions or disconnections. The one race everyone should readily identify with is the human race. End of story.
“I think that’s one of the nice things about growing up in a multicultural, melting pot city,” Ashley, Jia’s mom, told ABC News [1]. “They don’t see color. We’ve never talked to them about it.”
“It is unbelievable. They connected very well immediately,” Valencia, Zuri’s mom said. “It was amazing how they’ve gelled together.”
Resisting societal influence
The girls do everything together. They go to the same pre-school and afterward, they spend nearly every other hour in each other’s company. They even have a board hanging at the wall in their school highlighting their inspiring friendship.
The girls’ mothers are equally great friends who are determined to always encourage the powerful bond their children share.
“They’re both little Geminis,” Ashely said. “They have very strong personalities and are both super outgoing, well-spoken, intelligent, and not afraid to tell you what they want.
They hit it off right away.”
However, there are bitter moments where they have to be reminded of how cruel and insensitive society truly is.
“You know, you’re happy for a few seconds and then you become sad because they have to grow up – and then society takes over,” Valencia told CBS News.
The moms recalled the girls’ first encounter with racism. They were at a birthday party and of course, they wore the same outfit and put it up to anyone who cared to know that they were twins. An older girl tried to shut them down, telling them that they couldn’t be twins because they were not of the ‘same color skin’.
The girls were so heartbroken at that awful assertion. Jia immediately broke down in tears, but her pain quickly turned to fury and she fired back at the mean kid saying, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re twins because we share the same soul.’
“I was just thrown by just that word,” Valencia said.
The moms are worried about what the future may hold for the incredible friendship their children have, but they are hoping the girls will continue to break limits and defy odds.
Twin sisters will occasionally fall out
While the girls have many happy days and wonderful encounters together, they are bound to get into it once in a while.
They are supposed to be sisters for life and nothing should come between them, especially not boys. Zuri once accused Jia of having a boyfriend, a development that could potentially strain their twin-sisterhood. While that was a tough score to settle, the girls are still closer than ever.
The moms are expecting a whole world of drama to unfold as the girls get older, but their love for each other will always keep them together.
“We have a lot to learn and we can learn from children,” Valencia said.
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