I absolutely love my name; it's really important to me. My first name Rachel was named after Rachel Green on the show FRIENDS, my parent's favorite show.
However, my mom also wanted to name me Jacqueline or Nicole because she thought the names were pretty. Then, it dawned on her that I would go by a nickname, such as Jackie or Nicki because most people with long names have a nickname.
Unfortunately, the name Jackie Gerney sounds way too "sing-songy", and Nicki Gerney isn't much better. So, as a result, my parents decided to name me Rachel; it was a name that they loved, and no one has ever called me Rachie, so there are no sing song problems there.
Oddly enough, my sister's name is Hope and we all call her Hopey... go figure.
Often, people assume upon hearing my name that A) I'm Jewish, and B) that I'm ultra religious. In reality, I'm neither Jewish nor ultra religious, but Rachel is important in the Jewish religion so it's understandable that I get that assumption.
I've never relied on my name for privileges, but it has brought some negative feedback.
I had this "friend" freshman year, who wouldn't let me meet his parents because he thought that I was Jewish. By the time I questioned it, it was May, and he thought I was "keeping up appearances" by celebrating Christian holidays. Just to be clear, we are not "friends" anymore and I now have a checklist that points out not to be "friends" with a guy who is religiously bigoted.
My parents want to rename me Celeste; they say that I look like a Celeste. I personally love the name, and the meaning behind it is absolutely beautiful. I think it's original and unique, but one downside is having to spell it out to people. People have a hard enough time spelling Rachel, having them spell Celeste would be a nightmare!
My mom's name is hyphenated, and I think it's pretty cool. I think that hyphenating all depends on whose last name is better!
In Anna Quindlen's essay, "The Name is Mine", she talks about how she is facing the dilemma of being the individual, and also being part of her family of four. This concept of being two separate people is important in society.
I can't say that I have had many of these moments of awareness. However, I get this feeling around my extended family. Firstly, I rarely ever see them, which is different because most people grow up at least geographically near their extended family.
Secondly, I am so far apart in age compared to most of my extended cousins. I am either too young by 15 - 20 years, or I am too old by 13 - 15 years. I went to this family wedding anniversary when I was 15, and the closest person in age to me was 30 and had a wife.
I realized that while I share DNA with these people, I barely know them. We have nothing in common, and I have maybe one extended cousin who is my age, but I've never met them.
During this, I know that I'm me, but I also feel as if I'm connected with these strangers because I have the same blood as them.
It's complicated because I feel as if I'm out of the loop on something I'm technically a part of, and my individual self doesn't really belong. However, even though I know I'm different from the group, I'm still me, and that shouldn't change whether I'm in a large group or not.
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This was a really cool analysis! I think it is funny that your parent's didn't want your name to be too sing songy because as both my parents and myself have come to realize, my name rhymes! My parents never really considered how names sounded as much as what they signified to them, but I think that it is really cool that your parents considered that so deeply and now you are a part of chorus and think about the way things sound so often! I have also had similar experiences with extended family. I have often felt it is easier to try to be easy to get along with rather than just being myself because I see them so little, but I love that you want to conquer that urge and be yourself always! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that your parents named you Rachel after Rachel from Friends is amazing. Sounds like something that I would do. My question is, do you like Friends? I loved how you were able to get pass rude comments freshman year. You keep on loving your name girl! And oddly enough, I can so relate to you when it comes to feeling out of place with your family, especially when it comes to comparing ages. Additionally, when you said that you believed that one keeps being themselves, even in a group of people, I agreed. I think that the way you showed how you liked your name despite comments, your parents saying you look like a Celeste, and everything else, shows that you are comfortable with who you are and who you want to become. Now, that's amazing.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I am inclined to call you Rachie Gerney just for the purpose of making your name "singy-songy." I like that you tied other elements to you name such as the significance of your name to judism. That to me is really interesting (I'm going to ask Mr. Beller about it in World Religions). What I enjoyed reading about more is your relationship with your extended family. For me, my extended family is extremely close so it's very interesting to me that you feel as though the only time you have with them is through blood. I would like to know, do you feel as though sharing the same last name as most of them creates a sense of obligation for you to create a good representation of that name or is it just a mundane part of you as a person?
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