Daughter of Hope

      Oftentimes when I am searching for a title or name for something, "hija de esperanza" comes into my mind, and every time it surprises me. Not surprise because I could come up with it, but that in the repeated occurrence lies the fact that it must mean more to me than I had thought.
      Literally, it translates to "daughter of hope" in Spanish (which I think is a utterly beautiful language that I am happy to say I am nearing fluency in). The language itself has become a rather large part of my life. It started in Junior High, when something inside of me decided it would be interesting to take a foreign language class, and I fell in love. Every kid at multiple points in their life gets asked two things: what they want to be when they grow up, and what is their favorite class in school. As for the first, I had no clue. I played around with the idea of being an architect for a while, but that didn't quite make it past the elementary grades. My favorite class, though, was harder still, since I liked all of my classes. Sometimes my English class would win out because of my love for reading, but other times math would be at the top since it was always new, and it was logical and sometimes a challenge. Spanish, though, was something completely new. It was certainly a challenge, but not enough of one that I got frustrated and gave up. It was something very practical, since I could plan on using Spanish later in my life, and it just sounds beautiful to me. I don't know if there is one particular reason why I love learning and using Spanish, but it has become highly integrated into me.
      Now for the actual words. I believe in hope. That's something of a funny statement, since hoping and believing are commonly used in very similar contexts, so maybe I should say that I believe in the power of hope. I know I am young, but I have had my ups and downs in life as anyone, and I know that I would have stayed at the bottom if not for my solid hope in a better future. I knew it was in my power to change my situation, no matter how slowly, and that gave me the strength to do so. I have to remind myself from time to time to appreciate a seemingly small thing like that, but it is still there in the back corners of my mind and heart, working its power, keeping me going.