Good luck telling Jia Sarnicola and Zuri Copeland that they’re not twin sisters. In fact, they’ve gone viral twice just for pointing out everything they have in common.
The best friends were born just a few days apart and are virtually inseparable. But technically, they’re not twins (in the biological sense).
Their moms, Ashley and Valencia, don’t even try to argue about it anymore.
“They will tell you that they are twins and they have a long list of reasons why to back it up,” Ashley told CBS News when the 6-year-olds went viral last year for a second time.
When Jia and Zuri were just 4, they made news when an older kid tried to rain on their parade by snarking at them that they couldn’t possibly be twins because they don’t share the same skin color.
Jia got upset but had a rebuttal.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she reportedly said. “We’re twins because we share the same soul.”
“I just get chill bumps,” Ashley said of her daughter’s response. And Valencia said she was “just thrown by just that word.”
Jia and Zuri don’t see any significant differences between them. They’re the same height (yet more proof, according to them, that they’re twins), they dress the same, and they feel like twins. What else does anyone need?
“It’s always inspiring to see two girls love each other so much, when I say love I mean they love each other like sisters, you know they actually believe they’re twins,” Ashley told Fox 10 News.
The two even argue like sisters.
And while the world will eventually rob them of that idea, their mothers are indulging them for as long as possible.
There’s certainly no harm done by their “twinship.”
“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 lamented.
Until then, the two families are spending lots of time together as well – even vacationing with one another last year.
Their bond has survived going viral (and the attention on the fact that they’re certainly not twins) as well as the subsequent questioning by classmates. After all, they’re still just 7 years old at this point – so having your own friendship song and handshake might as well be the equivalent of sharing genes.
“Just to be able to see these girls, who are so innocent, who love each other they are just promoting friendship and kindness, just to see it, it’s simply wonderful,” Zuri’s mom Valencia said.
Part of the reason their story has gone viral twice now is that skin color has been at the forefront of so many disturbing news stories. And sometimes it feels as though people do nothing but constantly point out differences these days.
Of course, it’s easy to be an idealist when you’re in elementary school, but children who have been raised to put character over color will likely be the ones to adjust best to the world, becoming tomorrow’s leaders.
And how lucky are these girls to find a friendship so deep so early in their lives?
It may not last forever, but just having the experience of a “soulmate” to understand you at such an early age seems like the best preparation for having meaningful friendships in the future.
Be sure to scroll down below to see Jia and Zuri’s original viral story from 2017.
And click here to see the girls’ Instagram page.
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