Growing up she always aspired her name to be Lily. Though a swimmer, she never thought she belonged in the water such as a water lily does. A water lily is a symbol of enlightenment and purity. Through her childhood, she longed to be outside playing with those neighborhood kids she got along with so greatly. A child who never had trouble making friends or fitting in.  A water lily is put in its place with its roots deep in the mud. She, on the other hand, was not. Moving house to house, school to school, she never had that one place she could call home. A water lily can be exceedingly strong, holding its place in the river with the current sweeping beneath. She understood this strength, she had this strength. She was in the middle of the current her whole childhood, but not knowing it until the current hit too strong.       

Latin says she is known as the noble one. As she sprouted and opened her eyes to the world around her, she saw her noble ranking. Moving to another state instead of town she saw her stance. She was put down and set back, academically and socially. The child who never had a problem making friends or speaking up now had a problem… She was not the noble one with social status.  

She shared her name with a famous flower, a tiger lily. A bold flower that had confidence, a flower that stood out, a flower that means wealth, a flower that means strength. Although she did not feel as if she captured this flower, she was different. 

Alicia was mature enough at the age of 9 to stay home and watch her brother all summer, by herself. Alicia was handling the hurtful words and loneliness in Oklahoma at the age of 11, by herself. Alicia handled the mental abuse from her mother’s boyfriend at age 12, by herself. Alicia made her brother shower, cooked her brother food every night, got her brother up and ready for school at the age of 14, by herself. Alicia matured at a young age to make sure her brother and she, were okay, by herself. She moved back to Wisconsin and fought with her mom almost daily. Her mom never knew what she wanted, she always acted before she thought. When her mom decided to move back to Oklahoma for that guy, Alicia said she was going alone. She stood her ground, she bettered, she grew into who she is today, by herself. 

Alicia. That is the name of someone who is as strong as a water lily. Someone who is stronger than the current of the river.