In my language, my name is made up of two letters, it makes one sound, but it means something different to everyone. My language is Spanish. My name is Fe and Fe translates into faith. It’s not the faith you’re thinking about. It’s not the faith in believing in your religion, but it’s the faith you have for the future. At least, that’s what my parents have told me. I am the first person in the family to be born in America, the first person in the family to go to high school, the first person in the family to have her whole future ahead of her, and the first person in the family to give them faith. My family is from Mexico, born and raised. Each and every member has gone through really tough times, whether it was to leave school at a young age and work so you can have a plate of food for dinner, or have someone die because they were ill and the doctors did nothing about it, or a person was killed because they had something that someone else wanted.

Living in Mexico was dangerous, you didn’t know who to trust, and you were never sure if you were going to be safe. That’s why my parents left. My parents heard about this country of “freedom and opportunity” and left our mother country to live in a safe one That country was the United States of America. My parents planned to work in America and send the money they earned to my family in Mexico but that changed once I was born. Once I was in the picture my parents worked to give me everything that I needed and to try to send whatever they had left to the ones back in Mexico. My parents scraped at the bottom of the barrel to find any kind of job. My dad is a construction worker and my mom is a housemaid. Do they get paid well? No. Are they treated fairly? No. But, do they complain? No.

I know my parents struggle to put a roof over my head and to make sure I have food in my system, but they have faith. They have faith that one day I will graduate from high school and University. That one day I’ll have my own career. That one day I will have a stable life and will be able to help them out and help my family in Mexico. That’s all they need, that’s what keeps them going. They envisioned this as soon as I was born, that’s why they called me Fe. They called me Fe because they had faith in me to bring happiness and safety to my family. They called me Fe so I can remember that I have to have faith in myself because so many people are dependent on me. I am their only hope.

So much is put on one name, so much is put on two letters, and so much is put on me. Though, I do believe that I will be able to accomplish everything that my parents want. Even if people in this country hates me for my race and will put me down because of it. I won’t let them hurt me and I won’t let them stop me because I have too many people that are depending on me. I have too many people that have faith in me.