Say My Name

September 2 Writing Prompt: Name that…you!

Do you know the meaning of your name, and why your parents chose it? Do you think it suits you?

 

My name doesn’t have any deep family connection or meaning, which used to bother me when I was younger. I always thought it would be cool to be named after some amazing great grandmother who brought all ten of her children over from Italy and worked 18 hours a day to keep food on the table and shelter over their heads. We aren’t from Italy though, so my mom just picked a name she liked and I ended up being Amy Lynn.

 

Now that I’m older, I love the fact that my mom just picked a name she thought sounded cool (although I’m sure my mom never thought it sounded “cool”, maybe pretty or nice or lovely). If she hadn’t named me Amy Lynn she was going to name me Amanda Joy. I love her for not naming me Amanda Joy. No offense to anyone named Amanda Joy, but I much prefer to end up with a mid-level corporate job in Oregon and not on a rusted stripper pole in Kentucky.  

 

Amy means “beloved”. A name is a powerful thing, isn’t it? I have spent my whole life trying to figure out how to embrace who I am. Being able to accept love wasn’t something I could handle. That didn’t take away from the fact that I was surrounded by love, but to see myself as loveable was different. It’s why I stayed with people who didn’t care about me and treated me poorly. It’s what blinded me and kept me from seeing my own worth.

 

I look back on all those years of struggle and loneliness and wandering and know that at the core of my being I was beloved and didn’t know it. But it was in my name, it was there all along. My name suits my journey and I wouldn’t have it any other way.