A Name With Personality

By Beatriz Gonzalez

      

    I have not always liked my name. When I was little, I wanted to change my name, but after I came to the United States, I started to like it. It was unique and not many people had my name, or at least it was difficult to find someone with the same name as me.  

     I was named after my great-grandmother from my father’s side, like in the book. I knew my great-grandmother and she had a strong personality. When I was little, I felt kind of responsible for carrying her name because she was the image of the strong single women in my family. She was widowed at an early age. She raised my dad all alone after her son died and my grandmother decided to move on by herself. That made me feel that I had to be like her. The reality was that I was not like her at all. Likewise her personality, her voice was deep like a man’s voice, and mine is softer. She would also voice her opinion and was an outgoing person, and I am not.  

     I do not really know why my parents chose her name for me because there are three daughters in our family. Presently I do not worry that I inherited her name because I have decided that I am not going to compare myself to her but carry the good things within her name. I like my name now because it is not a common name. Moreover, I have given it a new meaning.