“My name is Kennise Baker and I am the great granddaughter of George Lake Jr. and the daughter of Denise King. This summer I have been very busy volunteering at Gum Springs Head Start Program where I help supervise the kids and set up various activities. I also joined a female youth group held at my church called Daughters of the Risen King (D.O.R.K.) where young women join together in fellowship and express their love for Jesus Christ. Prior to that, I took an Algebra II course online to get ahead of my studies and earned a “B”. I will be a senior this year at West Potomac High School and I am applying to Radford University this fall.”

Essay by Kennise Baker: The person who has a significant influence in my life is my mother, Marion Denise King. This woman is not your average single mother that lives to treat her daughter as a showcase. My mother has grand expectations for me that go way beyond being placed on the honor roll or becoming a woman of wealth for something to boast about. More than anything, I know my mother wants me to mature into a woman of integrity, someone who’s not afraid to stand up for themselves and what they believe in. My mother believes character is one of the most important things about a person which I certainly agree with. In the bible Jesus asks, “What’s the point in gaining the whole world if you forfeit your soul”, so how can you argue with that? It’s official. It is important to believe in something and declare it which my mother encourages me to do with her assistive and caring personality. When I was baptized a few months ago I was taking a stand for my relationship with Jesus declaring to all who was watching that I was going to walk in faith from then on. Although for some reason I didn’t expect her to be there, my mother was blending in with the rest of the crowd supporting me one-hundred percent. However, I shouldn’t have been the least surprised when I saw her because she has always been there for me.
When I was little, my mother was very protective over me. It was frustrating to watch my friends do all of the “fun” things I couldn’t do. Although I frequently gave her a hard time about it, I was also a straight-laced little girl who wouldn’t dare to cross her mother. Jumping on the “flashback wagon” I’ve realized two things. One: I’m happy I grew up in the environment in which my mother raised me. Many other children don’t have or let alone glance at the opportunities I have as a teenager because their parents allowed them to run amuck. Two: all the friends I had as a little girl reflect the same company I try to avoid now as a teenage girl trying to walk in faith. My mom would always criticize my friends and I didn’t understand where she was coming from at the time. I used to think she just wanted me to be lonely, like any other obnoxious kid that doesn’t get their way. If God hadn’t taken away all those people I tried to impress and befriend as a child, then I probably never would’ve comprehended what my mother was really trying to do: look after me. The phrase “mother knows best” comes to mind when I think about all the things my mother did that I didn’t appreciate as a little girl and now as a mature young woman I can openly thank her for it.

In addition to my mother’s loyalty to me, she is also a great help to my immediate family. My family comes to my mother for a great amount of things because we know she has a terrible record of saying “no”. Her faithfulness is extremely admirable because although we may aggravate her at times, she never turns her back on us. In all honesty, because I’ve learned the value of my mother, I try to help her out whenever I can. When no one offers to help my mother, I’m always the first (and sometimes last) to do so. Whenever she looks down-and-out I ask her if she’s okay and I give her random hugs of love out of respect and cherishment.

In conclusion, my mother has to be one of the most important people to me on this earth and I know the feeling is mutual in her heart. We may argue like mother and daughter, but we also love like mother and daughter and nothing will change that. The bible also says “honor your mother and father” and my mother will most definitely be honored, if not by anybody else, by her daughter. Written by- Kennise Baker, a Great Granddaughter of the late George Lake, Jr.

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY  KENNISE, AUGUST 25TH, FROM YOUR FAMILY!

Respectfully Submitted by Kennise Baker, of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family Reunion Circle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~