Ana Paula Sanchez: Joy to the World
“Ana Paula is just the embodiment of the word joy,” said Emily Huggins, a sorority sister and friend of the bright and cheerful girl who captures the hearts of everyone she encounters. “You really can’t help but love her.”
I believe this is just about the only way to describe Ana Paula Sanchez. She is like the first rays of sunshine after a storm, her constant smile providing you the warmth you didn’t know you had been missing all this time. When I met her on the first day of my Sophomore year of college, I could not have fathomed the marks she would leave on my heart. She is a friend to all, a faithful child of God and a true reminder that despite what the world would have you think, there are still fundamentally good people out there. She is a living testament to the word of God and one of the greatest people I have ever met. Every time I walk away from a conversation with her, I think to myself, “God, she is so special. She is one of a kind.”
However, despite her kind and exuberant nature, Ana Paula has overcome tremendous obstacles in her life. One of six adopted children, Ana Paula came to America at the age of ten, leaving behind her extended family in order to pursue a new life in a new country where the people spoke a language she hardly knew. Here, Ana Paula would morph into the beautiful young woman she is today with the help of her parents, her adoptive siblings and her God. But I would be amiss to say her story started in America. No, Ana Paula’s journey began long before moving to America, before her adoption, before she had even been born.
The story starts like this: a woman, pregnant, afraid and ill-prepared for motherhood, makes a sacrifice that will shape the life of her unborn daughter in ways she couldn’t yet imagine. She lets her baby go in hopes that she will be giving the little girl the life she would not ever be able to offer her. This woman is Ana Paula’s birth mother, someone she has never met but credits as the person who gave her the foundations upon which she has built her life through that one great sacrifice.
After her birth, Ana Paula was placed into the care of the Sisters of Charity, an organization that provides a home for pregnant mothers and children in need. From there, Ana Paula would be adopted by two loving and generous parents who Ana Paula refers to as her “best friends.” Her adoptive mother and father took her in and raised her with all the warmth and love she might have never gotten from her biological mother.
“I don’t even know what my life would have been like,” Ana Paula said when asked what she thought her life would have been like had her mother not given her up for adoption at birth. “She wasn’t ready to be a mom, so she did what she could to give me a good life. I’m really grateful for that.”
Truly, Ana Paula could not have been placed in better hands. Her parents, both missionaries who have devoted their lives to helping others, have raised their six adopted children to be wonderful, caring people and disciples of Christ.
“There are no words to describe how much I love them both,” said Ana Paula. “They are the greatest examples of God’s love for me.”
Ana Paula’s mother, Maria, helps women who, like her, are unable to conceive naturally. When asked about why she chose to adopt, she says, “you adopt because children are the answer to the need of marriages to be able to nourish and share the love that is born from their relationship.”
Ana Paula’s father, Roberto, says that his goals for his daughter and the family she has become a part of are “to live with joy and unconditional love, so together we can get to heaven.” Ana Paula certainly does not disappoint him on that front. After high school, Ana Paula opted to take a year off to do mission work, helping women discover their true worth and value through the love of God. When Ana Paula speaks of her mission in life, which is to love those around her and help them discover how powerful they are, her brown eyes sparkle with the burning passion she clearly harbors for all people, despite their circumstances or shortcomings. She lets herself love with abandon and it is breathtaking to watch her touch the lives of everyone around her, including me.
But despite the etherealness of Ana Paula, the most beautiful thing about her is that she is not perfect and doesn’t pretend to be. She has abandonment issues that stem back to her birth mother that she works through with a counselor, as well as insecurities that feel somewhat debilitating at times. She is a 21-year-old college freshman due to being held back for her English speaking abilities and her time-consuming mission work. Ana Paula is flawed, but instead of holding herself hostage in a cage of self-doubt and fear, she basks in the glory of her imperfections and delights in the fact that she is beautifully and wonderfully made. She claims her struggles have molded her into the strong woman she is today, and she is grateful for them. Her confidence and unfailing optimism radiates from her.
Ana Paula’s path to becoming who she is has been long and unpaved with many winding turns, but the bumps in her road have only molded her into the graceful, loving soul she is now. As for what’s next in her journey? Ana Paula doesn’t quite know. Still, she has an idea of how she’d like to spend the rest of her life.
“I want to spread love to others,” said Ana Paula. “I think that love is the most beautiful thing someone can offer to the world, and I want to devote my life to giving that love away.”
That shouldn’t be hard for her. If there is anything Ana Paula has an abundance of, it is love: true, elastic and totally pure.
