Moc17

sahlin studio ephemera stacks, a wonderful day kit

journaling...
Growing up with an unusual name was not easy. My mother was not original even though she gave me an original name. She named each of us for someone in her life. I procured the name of her best friend and college roommate, Celeste. My sister ended up with the same name as my paternal aunt and great-grandmother, Justine. My brother was named for my father, Thomas. I really didn’t like my name much growing up. It didn’t help when Celeste’s Pizza hit the shelves. It also didn’t help that it rhymed with pest. My schoolmates could not spell it – my box of Valentines was always a laugh seeing how the other kids spelled Silest or Suhlest. There are not a lot of options for nicknames. When it came time to name my children, I just couldn’t bring myself to be trendy or original. There would be no unusual spellings for me. I went the safe route with an Adam and a Samuel. I’m not sure how I feel about my name as an adult. In a working environment where many are foreign born, the mispronunciations and misspellings still occur. When I meet people, I feel like they feel obliged to comment on my name. I hear things Iike I know someone named Celeste (that’s funny Steve, I know someone named Steve, too) or what a beautiful name. I never give my name at Starbucks, invariably the barista will write Courtney or Chelsea. Oh how I wish my name was Mary or Amy!