A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.....true...but the word rose is something that everyone can pronounce. A name is quiet a defining feature that we possess, sometimes it may appear as though the name makes us...when in reality I believe that we make our name what it is.
That being said I have a strong love/hate relationship with my name...I love that I have one, I love that my parents put a great deal of thought into what it should be, and I love that it is unique. However I also hate that it is unique because no one can seem to pronounce it. From the tender age of six I have learned to respond to the following, " Te- Anna.....Te- Aunaa....or even just Thhh....ummm", sheepishly I would raise my hand and say " that's me". Over the years it has caused a mixture of embaressment, humor, pride, and laughter in my life. I remember times in middle school wishing that my name was Brittany, Hayley, or Chelsie...something hip and common that boys could actually prounounce ( little did I realize that that was not the reason I was not getting asked out.......bangs and braces can be a deadly combination). There is another name that can sum up my entire high school experience......Napolian Dynamite. If you are not laughing at this point you should probably see that movie before reading on. Day after day friends, and complete strangers, would yell down the hall.."hey Tina...come get some ham". It definitely caused a giggle or two, some even from myself. But still no one wants to share a name with a smelly, flea bitten, spitting llama. My biggest fear at graduation was not if I would trip on my robe or fall down the stairs, it was wondering if I would graduate as Teana Peterson or Te-Anna Peterson; either way I would gladly accept the diploma.
It seems that within the past ten years there has been a huge surge of unique, unusual, and downright weird names. Part of me wants to ask these parents what they are thinking...and another part of me wants to join in on the craze. True my name has caused a bit of anxiety, humiliation, and distress in my life; but it has also shaped my character...I suppose that possibly a name does make a person...but I still believe that I have made this name what it is.
So when the time comes will I choose a name that could potentially humiliate my child for the rest of their lives?? possibly...because in reality...the only person that can humiliate us is ourselves. So whether you are one of the millions of Elizabeths, Johns, Lisas, or Davids....or Apples, Maddoxs, Sundays, or Gages....you are who you want to be and your name is what you make of it.
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