Definition Essay: Remember Your Name
“Remember your name. Do not lose hope ---what you seek will be found” is one of my favorite quotes by Neil Gaiman. Your name is what describes you as person. It is much more than just a bunch of letters put together; there is a deeper meaning behind it. Your name is your story. My name, Bertride, describes who I am as person. It was given to me by my mother when I was born. It is a very unique name and also very rare, so far I haven’t met anyone name Bertride.
Growing up I hated the name Bertride. Every time I would tell someone my name their first reaction is always “excuse me, Ber- what? Can you repeat that? How do you spell it?” It irritated me. I was mad at my parents, “what were they thinking? Why Couldn’t I have names like my sisters?
Why didn’t they name me Beatrice or Astride?” were questions that I would constantly ask myself. The way other people would pronounce my name also played a big part of the hate I had toward my name.
Have I ever considered changing my name? Yes, I wanted to change it to a more common name such as Beatrice. People have been pronouncing my name wrong for so long that I do not bother to correct them anymore. I have multiple nicknames, my family calls me Blanca or Amy and my close friends call me BeBe or Ster. I asked my mother why she chose to call me Bertride. She didn’t really know the meaning behind the name; she thought that the name sounded very cool and unique. She wanted something different and special so she came up with the name Bertride Sterlin.
I am always telling others to love and accept who they are as a person. But I didn’t realize that I wasn’t putting what I was preaching into practice. Your name is your identity; it is a part of who you are. To love yourself mean to love everything about yourself, your name included. But it was not until my senior year of high school that I became more accepting and started developing a loving feeling toward my name. Do I still want to change my name? No, I have now a new appreciation for the uniqueness of the name Bertride Sterlin.
My name definitely suits my personality. I love to do my own thing and try to not follow the trend always. I came to realized that I didn’t hate my name; I just hated the fact that I didn’t have the self-confidence, boldness and self-worth to embrace the name Bertride. I now understand the value of a good name and the name Bertride Sterlin will follow me everywhere. When people hear the name Bertride Sterlin, I want them to think of this loving, hardworking, determine, a dedicated student, strong, elegant and compassionate young woman that she is.
Growing up I hated the name Bertride. Every time I would tell someone my name their first reaction is always “excuse me, Ber- what? Can you repeat that? How do you spell it?” It irritated me. I was mad at my parents, “what were they thinking? Why Couldn’t I have names like my sisters?
Why didn’t they name me Beatrice or Astride?” were questions that I would constantly ask myself. The way other people would pronounce my name also played a big part of the hate I had toward my name.
Have I ever considered changing my name? Yes, I wanted to change it to a more common name such as Beatrice. People have been pronouncing my name wrong for so long that I do not bother to correct them anymore. I have multiple nicknames, my family calls me Blanca or Amy and my close friends call me BeBe or Ster. I asked my mother why she chose to call me Bertride. She didn’t really know the meaning behind the name; she thought that the name sounded very cool and unique. She wanted something different and special so she came up with the name Bertride Sterlin.
I am always telling others to love and accept who they are as a person. But I didn’t realize that I wasn’t putting what I was preaching into practice. Your name is your identity; it is a part of who you are. To love yourself mean to love everything about yourself, your name included. But it was not until my senior year of high school that I became more accepting and started developing a loving feeling toward my name. Do I still want to change my name? No, I have now a new appreciation for the uniqueness of the name Bertride Sterlin.
My name definitely suits my personality. I love to do my own thing and try to not follow the trend always. I came to realized that I didn’t hate my name; I just hated the fact that I didn’t have the self-confidence, boldness and self-worth to embrace the name Bertride. I now understand the value of a good name and the name Bertride Sterlin will follow me everywhere. When people hear the name Bertride Sterlin, I want them to think of this loving, hardworking, determine, a dedicated student, strong, elegant and compassionate young woman that she is.