Excerpts:
Yerelin Perez Vega
If my name were weather, it would be a chilly autumn morning, because I don’t like hot moist sticky air and I don’t like very cold mornings. I like it just right. I like walking down the street and seeing how the leaves change their color and then how they fall down. I like walking down on a chilly morning and smelling the fresh baked bread from the bakery and the smell of cinnamon. You can wear sweaters. You could wear jeans without feeling exhausted or hot.
“Without”
Without my pillow, who I speak to in the night about my feelings or how school was or what excitement happened today or what shouldn’t have happened.
Without my reading books, I wouldn’t feel comfortable. My books are always there for me when I’m bored or I want to do something and I go to my books. When I read my books I become more aware of how the world is, how things can change fast.
Without my sweet home, Dominican Republic, the countryside, I wouldn’t have known the meaning of humble or being independent or being able to interact with others. My first trip to the Dominican Republic was 5 months after I was born. And I spent there most of my first years.
Without my DR I wouldn’t have been able to support most of the time without electricity or mosquitoes flying around. I also learned the importance of nature and humanity in my sweet home.
Without my home I wouldn’t have had those wonderful moments. Like when I had two more sisters. And when I had my 12th birthday celebrated and I felt like a princess. Every corner, every inch has become very important to me. In my house is where I really had a family, and I started to grow up and become who I am today.
Genesis Vizcarrondo
If my name was weather it would be ‘cool sunny’ because I’m a happy and pretty laid back person. I’m like the cool breeze making the flowers and branches dance and the bright and shiny sun that makes those flowers and trees bright and colorful. I’m like this weather because it’s really fun and chill. You can relax with the nice cool breeze and can have fun with the blinding sun. This is who I am.
My name, Genesis Nahomie, was given to me by my mother. My name is a biblical name from the beginning of the Old Testament. It means “birth” in Greek. My mother told me that she had a dream. I believe she said that her dream was that God manifested himself and told her that I’m going to be a girl and that I shall be named Genesis. If it were not for that dream, I would have been named Alexandra, Alejandra, or April. The funny thing is that I would have the same name as my birthday month, April. My middle name Nahomie is also a biblical name from the Old Testament. It is a Hebrew name that means “pleasantness.” I really do not know the story behind it. My mother spelt “Naomi” with an h, m, and e included. It’s pronounced the same. The ‘h’ is silent. Some people pronounce the ‘h’ sometimes, so the ‘-omie’ is said like ‘homie’, but some people pronounce it correctly.
Adrian Valentin
My name would be winter glaze, because I would be a bit of cold but not too cold.
Everything would be covered in a winter layer of snow. The snow falls slowly and the leaves start to freeze like a dream coming to reality. As the snow covers everything it touches, all you see is a place covered in white coat of ice.
My name was given by my mom. She wanted to name me Adrian since it was part of my grandparent’s middle name.
No I would not change my name, because it was the name that my mom named me and I would not change that since both of my parents agreed to name me. I like my name and it represents a strong, honest, loyal person that I am.
