THE KIDS
KI’ ELE & SAMADHI
7 & 12
Ki’ ele: My sister, my moms, and my health are my angels. I used to get bad stomach aches, and my mom would rub my belly and tell me it’ s okay until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I would feel all better.
Samadhi: There are a lot of angels for me. My family, my friends, and my art. But number one are my moms. My mom is my angel because she inspires me to do my art. For a while, it was just me and my mom living in the ghetto in Columbus, Ohio. Times were fun, but they were hard because it was just us. I never really talk about this kind of stuff.
Ki’ ele: Sissy just talk. You can do it. It’ s in your mind. Just speak!
Samadhi: We were all we had. She always told me that I have a heart of gold and that I ' m strong. If I was going through one of those stinky stages where I couldn’ t draw anything, she’ d say,“ Samadhi, sometimes you’ re going to have tough times, and that’ s ok. You just have to get through it.” She teaches me that things happen for a reason, and that I need to be positive. My Mama Dukes is my angel too. We have a tough relationship, because we bicker a lot, but when she ' s not around, I miss her the most. She always does these random acts of kindness. Like she’ ll come home and say,“ Who wants pizza and movies?” and then get them for us. My favorite story is when my mom and Mama Dukes first met. She got a bunch of different people to give my mom roses one by one during work. Then Ki’ ele gave her a rose, I gave her a rose, and finally my Mama Dukes gave her the last one.
Ki’ ele: My sister is my angel too. She loves me so much. She cuddles me and is there for me every night. When I cry, she tells me,“ It’ s okay.”
Samadhi: Ki’ ele is also my angel. She is my best friend. We share a room together, so we’ re together all the time. We fight a lot, but if I see something’ s wrong, I ask her to tell me about it, because I’ m her big sister and I always have her back. She tells me about her boy crushes and makes me keep them a secret.
Ki’ ele: Yeah, you promised!
Samadhi: Hope itself is my angel too. I hope for my family’ s success and my parents’ success. I remember one night, I woke up and my stomach was in excruciating pain. I texted my mom and said,“ Mommy, my stomach hurts. Can you come sit with me? She came in and sat with me and told me it’ s all in my mind. Stay positive.” Then we had a conversation and before I knew it, my stomach ache was gone. My hope is that we will always have each other’ s backs, like my mom did for me that night.
Ki’ ele: Being thankful for what I have is how I can be an angel to others.
Samadhi: I can be an angel by passing on my knowledge to the people around me, and doing random acts of kindness, just like my stepmom.