With the movie Something About Mary lingering in my parents head, and seeing Cameron Diaz on the cover of a magazine in the delivery room, my parents decided to name me Cameron. Growing up with the name Cameron resulted in many encounters where people thought I was a boy just by reading my name, (cough cough Mr. Beller), and many nicknames: most popular being Cam, then there's cam cam, cammy, C Money, Cameroon, and my favorite that all the relatives called me, Cameroon the Baboon. When looking up the literal definition of my name I found its a Scottish surname that means crooked nose, which is ironic because I actually have a little bit of a crooked nose from a softball accident. I believe that your name is a part of your identity because thats how others identify you, or else we would all lose track of who is who, but I don't think that your names defines you as a person. A name is just a name, and yes certain names hold power in our society for example different celebrities or royal family names, but its more of what you do and who you are that gives your name that power and recognition. Your name is more of a personal choice that you want people to identify you as, but by no means defines who you are or what you do.I am a pretty outgoing, loud person, that likes to crack a lot of jokes every now and then, (even though they aren't all that funny, but that's okay because I still laugh at them), anyways that is how I identify myself 88% of the time. The other 12% is left for awkward moments, classroom discussions, and presentations. In these moments I relate to Anna Quindlen's idea of "two me's" as I view myself as an outgoing person there are situations like trying to deliver a presentation or have the usual IB class discussion I clam up and get shy, in fear of saying something stupid and overall failure. What is weird though is that I dance and have no problem dancing on stage and expressing myself in front of others, but have trouble giving a 15 min class presentation, (SOS dreading the extended essay extravaganza).Though I am starting to participate more I still understand the point she makes about the different alter egos people seem to have, and exhibit in different life situations or events. I believe that these "two me's" depend on what larger whole you are apart of or surrounded by, and how comfortable you are around that group.
I thought that your list of nicknames and the origin of your name really helped to contribute to how your name relates to you. I think you did a good job of making an argument that names do not necessarily define who you are because ultimately you define yourself. However, I was less sure about the "two me's" example. I understand that being outgoing and being quiet are two different ways you are, although I believe that you can expand more on your thoughts. Overall what you wrote was entertaining and informative as to who you are, good job Riddick!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha- great post. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour idea of names only being a codifier by which humans can identify others is something that I can certainly support. I think your strength in this post lies in your detailed emotional outlook on the subject and the thought process that you displayed while plotting this out. Names are definitely not something that define our personality simply because of their meaning in our society, though I do feel that this causes names to become a little less personal and of self value. I also feel like your idea of having two you's is agreeable as I find myself having a similar transition when dealing with certain social groups in my own life. In summary I find your ideas for the subject logical and relative, as well as reflective of our society for the values that you displayed. So yeah, this is some good stuff you typed here, keep it up.
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