The Ra’aid siblings Shakeelah Ra’aid, Tia Ra’aid, Shekendria Davis, Yusuf Ra’aid, Kenya Ra’aid, Samaiyah Ra’aid and Majazz Tate (left to right) stand outside of their family home in Athens, Georgia on May 18, 2018. The seven siblings were reunited to celebrate Yusuf’s graduation. Photo courtesy of Cidney Herndon
Journalism I student Samaiyah Ra’aid shares her experiences of being the youngest child , how she and her siblings’ interact and how their personalities work along with one another.
Being the youngest child in a family has always been a very unique experience in the Ra’aid household. I, however, really enjoy it even though I am the youngest of seven children — yes, seven children.
I have four sisters and two brothers. We grew up with the same upbringing but we are all very, very different.
We bump heads a lot due to our very different personalities but, more likely than not, we’re having a good time.
My oldest sister, Kenya, is 18 years older than me, so she always treated me like her own child. She has always tried to tell me what to do, how to do it and when to do it. We are both two very strong-minded people which sometimes causes us to not get along. I see myself in Kenya because, like her, I always try to do my own thing.
Tia is one of a kind. She’s always been very bubbly. When I was younger, she encouraged me to chase my dreams and to be kind. Like Kenya, she can feel like my mother, but in a more friendly way. She loves to have a good time and try new things, and her work ethic, kindness, dedication and determination have influenced me greatly.
My sister, Shakeelah, is the life of the party. She’s always looking to have a good time. She’s so free-spirited and she brings the best out in all of us. Things sometimes become complicated when she’s the only one in a party mood and everyone else wants her to be calm.
Next, we have Majazz. Majazz is one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet in your life. He is very straight forward with all of us and he always says “it’s because I love you.” Without Majazz, tense moments between us would be blown out of proportion. He’s always going to defuse the situation with a joke because that’s who he is. He’s also very confident. He considers himself the family “pretty boy”. Under no circumstances can one even imply that Majazz is ugly because he’ll go into an endless rant about how he’s the best looking out of all of us.
Shekendria is very quiet and observant but when you tick her off, she will blow up. She’s not one to be messed with. She and Majazz make the perfect mix of chaos between us.
Yusuf and I are the closest in age, which makes us get along a lot better than my other siblings and I. He’s really laid back but he’s a jokester. He’s also very sly. One minute I’ll see him and the next minute he’s eating the food out of the refrigerator that I mentally claimed.
Then there’s me. I’m always one of the loudest people in the house when we’re together just because I love to annoy my siblings. I’m strong-minded like Kenya, passionate like Tia, the life of the party like Shakeelah, observant like Shekendria, confident like Majazz and funny like Yusuf. I’m the perfect mix of all of my siblings, but I still manage to be different.
When we’re together, there’s bound to be good times. We sing, we dance, we cook, we go places and we just enjoy each other’s company.
We may argue a lot, but we also know how to have a good time around each other.
I’m proud to be the youngest of this crazy family. We have our conflicts but it’s us against the world forever.
