Mom named me Maria after Maria von Trapp because she chose adventure and decided to make her own path. Growing up Catholic and in a musical family, I couldnāt imagine having any other name.
My name is Carlos and for years I could not stand my name. I had the āCarlos Santanaā years where everyone would sing Maria Maria after announcing my name. The constant āthatās not your nameā and strange looks (still get those looks whenever I hand over my license from time to time). I guess obtaining the nickname Los from friends and family made it easier. I didnāt truly appreciate my name until my Dad explained to how I got my name. Story goes, my Dad was talking to my grandmother about kid names and she pretty much scolded my Dad for having zero children with Mexican names. He asked her what name would be best and she chose Carlos. Idk I just think itās kinda cute that my grandmother named me. She was the wild and brutally honest and I always respected her for that. Wouldnāt change my name, I think itās pretty cool to look the way I do and have a somewhat unique name for someone with my skin color.
my mom named me isabella because she was in a play and the lead role was named isabella and she wanted it so bad but ended up being one of her knights - was in love with that name since
I initially had an indifferent perspective on my name. First seeing it as something entirely boring and a little old fashioned in a family full of āclassically namedā american folks, then to seeing it as surprisingly over played the older I got.
-
In recent years Iāve essentially truncated my last name to Sage because my surname is difficult to spell & pronounce. I love that many adult acquaintances donāt know my real name and I have this built in botanical association Iāve *chosen*.
-
No matter how common the name is in the real world, and Iām no longer the only Caroline like the small town I grew up in, I do find it undeniably sweet.
-
I love that many people have positive associations with my name, and thereās a certain joy associated with it because of countless songs in pop culture. For the past few years one of my go to social media bios is āthe one all of those songs are named after.ā
-
No nicknames stuck much as a child, besides being called āCā here and there, with my sibling called āB.ā But in recent years my best friend started calling me *Care*, hence the username, and itās the first nickname Iāve connected with and felt loved through. Sorry to all the Caro-s and Carols out there, I always felt frumpy when I was called either growing up.
-
My mom causally claims that God, yes God, told her to name me in a dream way before her pregnancy. I like to affirm I was given the name because itās *in my being to care* but I canāt wait to see what nicknames I collect with the more people I meet, love, and am known by <3
-
P.S.
always loved the name Virginia as well, and Chrysanthemum because of the childrenās book.
Once a month or so, I like to sit down by myself and do things that Iāve been putting off. Iāll make a whole event of it that feels like a solo date. But I am sure to set a time limit of only an hour or so!
Iāve found that often my negative feelings are due to overwhelm, not stress. Reducing overwhelm is a lot easier for me in tough times because I think of what I can DO which gets me moving through the emotional muck. When I try to reduce stress, I often just return to the emotional mess a few hours later. Hence, productivity nights.
I put on comfy clothes, make some tea, put on some new music and get to work. Last night, I wrote two letters that Iāve been meaning to write for weeks and picked out a present for somebody close to me. A weight off my shoulders fixed in an hour!