A Name: A Nuisance Better Kept or Left Behind?

After learning of Gogol's choice to change his name, I ended up stumbling over some old "notes" I wrote on Facebook in tenth grade.  I had written them when it was a "cool" thing to do one Facebook.  I only had two, and immediately deleted the first one, realizing how dumb it sounded and how profound I thought I was at that age.  I went through the second note, which was a survey.  It asked me questions like "What was your last text message?" and "What was the last thing you had to eat?".  With each question, I was repulsively reminded of my past self and all my previous ideals.  Eventually, I came across the question "Would you like to change your name?".  To my surprise, I had undoubtedly and unquestioningly answered "yes," with no explanation, and moved on to the next question.  Now that I think about the consequences and the loss of identity that go along with changing my name, I realize how much I do NOT want to change it.  Although I have never been particularly fond of "Elizabeth," it is who I am.  This realization caused me to understand how important a name truly is.  We are what we make it.  It changes along with us, and we have complete control over how we interpret it.  Although I did not find my past answers wonderfully engaging, or as smart as I considered them then, I found that my name encapsulates all that I am, including the parts I do not like.  My willingness to accept that, then find who I really want to be helps me to not only accept, but cherish my name, which I believe will come to help me in the future