Asya Romero

Hope Didn't Speak English

by Asya Romero

In the fall of 2001, I arrived in the United States holding the hand of my eight-year-old son and carrying seven months of pregnancy. I didn’t come with suitcases full of dreams or big plans. I came running from a life that had taken everything from me - a missing husband, a broken economy, a country that no longer felt like mine. 

When I arrived in Florida, I didn’t speak the language, knew almost no one except a distant cousin, and I had nothing but fear. The three of us slept on a borrowed couch. My son Daniel started school without knowing a single word of English. I worked cleaning houses during the day, and cried quietly at night, wondering if I had made the right choice. Two months later, my daughter was born. I named her Esperanza - not because I felt hopeful, but because I needed to believe that life could still change. Her name became my promise to keep going.

The years were hard. But with time, we learned. Daniel became my voice, my strength, my reason. Esperanza grew up strong, smart, and proud of her roots. And I, slowly, stopped being afraid. I started a small sewing business and, for the first time, felt like the future belonged to me. Today, when I look back, I know that hope didn’t speak English…. but we

learned it together. I didn’t bring hope with me - I found it here, in the struggle, in love, and in resilience. And that’s why, today, 24 years later, I can say with pride: it was all worth it.