My name is Anaïs Real. Anaïs means grace and mercy. My name makes
me think of a moonlit lake – quiet and polite. But I am more than
that. On the inside currents swirl and tumble, making the growth
underneath the silent exterior sway with happiness and thoughts. My
name also makes me think of a deep, shimmering blue, the kind that
wraps its cool wetness like a blanket around you. Blue is the color
that is calm, wise, fair, and respectful. Blue is noble and kind.
That is what I want to be.
My last name, Real, came from my great-great-great-grandfather,
whose last name was “Reale”. When he immigrated from Genoa, Italy
to Uruguay, the “e” in his name was dropped, and became “Real”,
which means royal in Spanish. My last name makes me think of a royal
blade, ancient and delicate, sounding hard but with a soft sheen. My
last name is a bright red. Courage, spirit, strength is what red is.
My name is a part of me. I want to be blue and red, to become
harmonious purple. The deep, elegant color of royalty and truth. I
want to be strong, willful, courageous, kind, respectful, wise, and
calm all at once. I appreciate my name and what it means to me.
Like everybody else, my last name carries a lot of family history.
We might have similar family backgrounds, or there might be another
Anaïs Real, but there is only one Anaïs Real of red and blue.
That's what makes me special.
