NAMES

Names hold a lot of power as we clearly saw in Lucy. I was fascinated by the way in which Lucy's name had been chosen, and how each part was meaningful in some sort of way, no matter how odd. Earlier, we discussed in class many of our names and how they were chosen, but what didnt really come up was a name in which was hurtful or not really suited for a person, but that person was stuck with it anyway. What I mean by this for example is how Lucy's first name, Lucy, was given to her because her mother named her after the devil. This is what I mean by hurtful. Lucy is now stuck with a name that does not have a positive connotation, but there does not seem to be much that she can do about it. Similar to Lucy, my own grandmother, was named in a similar fashion. No, she was not named after anything evil, forutnately, but she was named after somethign she is not. Her father had wanted always wanted a boy and was sure he would get one. When my grandmother was pregnant, he had no doubts she had a baby boy inside her. He prepared to name this chil Mike--a simple boys name. To his horrified surprise, the baby was not male, but female. In his stubborness he still insisted that she be named Mike. He was clearly in denial, and refused to accept a girly child, and maybe by not giving her a girly name, he could live in denial the rest of his life. Of course he eventually gre to love hsi daughter, but not before than name stuck, and still today she is called Mike. As a child this was very upsetting for her, knowing her father wished she was a boy and having to permanently carry a boys name. I foudn this story to be relevant simply becuase it illustrates the strength and power of a name. A common name such as, Mike, holds a history in its one syllable. The power of names is not to be underestimated or ignored.

Often names are the first thing people learn about us; it is the ultimate first impression. For example many times, in a new place, such as a school, etc., people will wear name tags. Before even meeting or being in a contact with a person, they will the name written on the name tag and form some sort of judgement, consciously or unconsciously. For example it is possible that at Saint Mary's if you see the name "KATIE" written on a name tag, you might think, 'oh, just another Katie, nothing important', and you are thereofre unengaged by this person, simply because of their name tag.