Image source: People

Birthdays can bring people together. Here’s a sweet example highlighting this truth:

People magazine recently featured two four-year-old friends who see themselves as twin sisters because they “share a birthday.” Well, they don’t actually — they were born two days apart — but they’re four, so we’ll forgive them that (although People could have been more accurate).

Anyhow….

Zuri Copeland and Jia Sarnicola were born June 5 and June 3 respectively and have been best friends for two years since meeting in a Miami school. Apparently the two girls who hang out almost daily have started telling people they are sisters — twins to be exact.

But, when they did so in a face painting line at a birthday party, two other girls said they couldn’t be twins because they weren’t the same color.

Zuri’s older sister recalls Jia beginning to cry while Zuri stood her ground and said:

“You don’t know anything! We are twins because we have the same birthday and share the same soul!”

What a lovely idea!

Birthday Buddies

The older sister posted this anecdote to social media with a picture and the story went viral (hence People). Those liking and retweeting loved hearing about the girls’ friendship and their bond that transcends race.

Social media saw friends of all races comparing themselves to the girls and true biological twins of different skin colors sharing their experiences.

Zuri’s older sister told People she hopes the story helps people “begin to have faith in humanity” during a period of racial tension in the country. “If 4-year-olds are able to maintain healthy doting relationships despite their skin colors, then so can adults.”

Of course, adding my two cents, I believe that what brought these girls together to bond in the first place was clearly the close proximities of their birthdays. Birthdays are a bond that can’t be beat!