Month: January 2018

The United Nations Declaration of Rights of the Child entitles each child to a name. Naming children shows that parents at least acknowledge their existence and care enough to distinguish them from everything else in their world. There are shelves of books devoted to the subject of names, especially the critical choice all expecting parents must make when deciding their children’s names.

I certainly can’t recall the process my parents went through as they examined those first ultrasound images, but I’m sure they never intended for me to make a separate name for myself. 

I feel almost guilty about spitting on their weeks of  deliberation. After all, my parents  named me after a princess. I can console  myself  that it was an accident I have no way of undoing.

The first day of kindergarten at Roberts Elementary School was an ordinary, almost boring, day for me. Since my birthday missed the grade cutoff date by two months, my parents enrolled me in a preschool head start program so that by the time I entered Roberts, I was well acclimated with school routines. Many of my less experienced classmates who had trouble adjusting to their new surroundings cried for their parents.

I sat on the rug and toyed with a stray piece of yarn, waiting for the end of the day so I could finally watch Arthur on TV.  My teacher, Mrs. Davis, comforted the other students before taking role. In my preschool class or whenever I met strangers, my parents introduced me as “Cissy (pronounced see-see)” but I was all alone on that day. I couldn’t hide behind my mom’s legs or burrow under my dad’s oversized polo. When Mrs. Davis called my name, she hesitated before guessing the pronunciation.

“Cissy?” she said.

I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, I’d been taught not to talk back to the teacher, but on the other hand, I didn’t want my name mispronounced. Then, as I sometimes do now, I shut down when I most needed to assert myself. I decided to remain silent. For the rest of the year, Mrs. Davis called me Cissy and so did my classmates. From that point onward, I introduced myself to new people as Cissy but my parents and old friends continued to call me “Cissy”. My two names marked off the public and private sectors of my life, two identities given my the people who surrounded me. 

Many people think of a “sissy” as someone who lacks conviction and self-confidence. When Mrs. Davis first called my name, I couldn’t muster the courage to correct her. In that moment, I defined myself as a “Cissy” both literally and figuratively. I began this essay by discussing the value of names within our world. You might wonder what benefit I could possibly have from such an embarrassing mispronunciation of my name. Though the symbolism might seem too perfect, I understand now that I learn from the mistake that gave me my name by becoming more confident. In that regard, my name might have a different sort of meaning for me than the one we usually consider.

I believe that each person has the opportunity to define their own identity. I believe we must seize that opportunity, or allow others to tell us who we are.

For my This I Believe podcast, I want to speak about the 2008 recession’s impact on my family and how it taught me that we don’t control what happens to us, but we determine how we respond to hardship. Growing up, I lived in a community where most parents had stable, high-paying jobs including my dad, who worked for pharmaceutical company GSK. The recession and job outsourcing meant that the company laid off many of its workers at his site, and eventually, he was laid off as well. The notion of an unemployed parent was strange to me because my experiences thus far taught me to expect a steady income. I was upset with my dad for “getting fired” and I didn’t understand economic reality.

On a lighter note, I might also do my podcast about learning music and what it taught me about accomplishing any goal. Once you know how to read music, learning a piece of music becomes mostly about just playing it repeatedly and gradually figuring out how the notes flow. However, I’ve found that there are always things I can do to interpret a piece differently or make it sound better. Like learning music, no goal will begin itself.

For my Civic Issues Blog, I’d like to write about the American identity today and the controversies over what qualities should unite us. Each blog post would focus on a specific aspect of identity, such as religious identity, race, immigration status and others. I plan to research the historical context of the issue, then write about the current state of the country as it concerns the issue. Given my research and personal values, I’ll present my opinion on how to resolve the tensions.

This blog topic might be too general, so my second idea is for a blog about immigration. The issue of immigration inspires a lot of emotional passions, which makes it difficult to debate or discuss it. To the extent that it’s possible given my personal biases, I’d write an assessment of what values guide both sides after reading other opinions on the topic. Then, I would decide what I believe or come up with a compromise.

For my Passion Blog, I want to continue with my current idea. Ideally, I read a book each week then write a review and commentary on the book. If I don’t end of reading that week, as is often the case, I’ll write about a memorable book I read previously or some other reading related topic. The format for my passion blogs is currently pretty open ended. I might reflect on the parallels between my own observations and the content of the book or general trends in the books I read.

Another idea I’d like to try is blogging about the ways geology has influenced human history. For example, mountains often served as a natural defense against invasion while people living in societies on level land risked invasion. I would research and blog about a different example each week.