Hope by definition means to cherish, want or desire something. That something can be a tangible or intangible item that one can expect to obtain at some point in time. My immigrant parents transmitted the process of hoping to me at a very early age in my life. I was fourteen years old and living in La Paz, Bolivia, when their hope of providing their children, my brother and I, a better life and education came true. The truth and realization of that hope, that desire or so-called dream was made a reality by immigrating to America. Their hope was driven strongly by their faith in God and the thought that they could make those dreams happen through their strong work ethic and perseverance.

They sold everything they owned in Bolivia, and left their lives behind to afford us the privilege of being educated in America. We left Bolivia with our lives in five suitcases, $50,000 dollars, which back in 1978 was a fortune for middle class working folks, and headed to America, the land of opportunity. My parents spoke no English yet they had the strong hope and desire that we would succeed. Twenty-five years later they are each successful business owners, with two college educated children. They turned their hopes into possibilities and made them a reality, all that with their beginning capital of $50,000. That was my first lesson of transforming hope into possibility. How does one make hopes, dreams or visions into possibilities or realities?

For us in 1978, that hope was transformed into reality by sacrifice, hard work and determination. It was accomplished by doing jobs that no one else would do and studying hard to prove that we as immigrants could succeed. Women who succeeded in my country of birth were a minority because they were not fulfilling the traditional role of a woman. My mother had the hope and the vision that her children would be given a different opportunity. My father chose to follow her dream. Together they defied their traditional roles that had been culturally inbred into them. Together they made a journey that has forever changed their lives. Their lives have been marked with joys and sorrows and an abundant recollection of memories that has set them apart from many of their family members that remain in Bolivia.

As a woman in today