TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Separation from twin brother proving difficult for freshman
By Vonna Keomanyvong
Kansan staff writer
JARED SOARES/KANSAN
Every day,Edwardsville freshman Amittia Davis looks at pictures of her brother to motivate herself. This year was the first time she moved away from her family.
Every face in the crowd and every name in the phonebook has a story behind it. Every week, Kansan writer Vonna Keomanyvong tells the story of a randomly selected KU student.
When Amittia Davis decided to attend the University of Kansas, she did not expect the move from her home in Edwardsville to be so hard, though it meant leaving her twin brother, Amos Davis III.
The 18-year-old freshman said this was the first time she and her brother had been apart. Amittia said her brother did not come to KU because he had enlisted in the Air Force.
"I have about 14 pictures of him on my wall that I look at everyday," she said. "I have to see him all of the time because I miss him."
Faces in the Crowd
Amos, who is waiting for an assignment while living at home near Kansas City, Kan., was not used to not having his sister around, he said.
"She is the one person that I can call my best friend," he said. "It's weird because I could always go to her room and ask her for something, but now I have to call and see if I can come up."
Amittia and Amos are fraternal twins, which means they were born from two eggs and do not look alike. Amittia, who was born four minutes earlier than Amos, said their personalities also were different.
Amos is athletic and artistic, and Amittia is more school-oriented.
If it were not for Amittia, Amos may never have graduated from high school, he said. His senior year, he blew off his classes.
When his family found out that he was failing one of his classes. Amos was hassled about it, especially by Amittia.
wanted to have fun."
"I wasn't about to
graduate without him," Amittia said. "I didn't want to walk across the stage by myself."
So during her senior year of high school, she made a regular schedule to talk to his teachers. She said she would find out what assignments he was missing and what he needed to do to complete them.
"I just tried to lead him in the right direction," Amittia said.
In the end, they accepted their diplomas together.
"People didn't think that I was going to make it," Amos said. "I was blessed with a sister with a kind heart."
Their mother, Frankie Davis, said she was not surprised by Amittia and Amos' bond.
She said they had been close since they were born.
Two weeks after leaving the
hospital together. Amittia had to go back to the hospital because she was sick.
"They knew when they were separated," Frankie said. "Amos was crying at home, and Amittia was crying at the hospital. They didn't stop crying until I brought Amittia home." But the bond eventually had to break, Frankie said. When the two started preschool, Frankie and her husband made sure they were not in the same classes.
"When the teacher would ask Amos a question, Amittia would answer for him," Frankie said. "It was imperative that we separate them because, otherwise, he would not know how to do things in class."
Since then, Frankie said, they knew they wouldn't be together all of the time. But regardless of where the two are, Amitia said she would always be there for her brother.
"My mom always said that Amos would need to do stuff by himself," Amittia said. "But he's going to call me if he ever needs help."
Contact Keomanyvong at vkeomanyvong@kansan.com. Amy Schmitz edited this story.
Dannie M. Thompson Jr. Owner Jack Flanigan's Bar & Grill shows off the largest burger in town (12 oz.) which is 1/2 price every Tues.
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Sincerely,
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Owner Jack Flanigans Bar & Grill
Just off 23rd behind McDonald's·749-HAWK