My Name

    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.