One of the creative writing assignments involved the kids writing about their names. I told them to compare them to numbers, to sounds, to people, to their ethnicity, to colors, to moments, and finally, if they had to choose a NEW name for themselves, what would it be?
Here is one of my favorites thus far....
My name is Megan, my middle name is Alice, so even though Megan boars me; Alice is no fall back name. It appears my mother had a fondness for Meg. Meg of all words! Three letters, no meaning. Megan, sometimes spelled with an H.
It's plain, blah; it's a pale face with a few freckles. It's a girl who does her work and gets straight As. It's a girl on time, with a planner. A girl with no idea what fornication is, a girl oblivious that there is another sex besides her own. Megan isn't a name you can tease. It's too simple. I don't ever answer to Megan unless it's shouted at me 4 to 5 times.
If there is anyone worth my time they address me by Asian. It's my ethnicity, but it bubbles. So proud I am about being Asian, but it's not the reason I see myself as Asian. I got my name from Alex. He doesn't pay attention to much of anything, so by the 6th grade the only way to address me was "Asian".
It could be for the fact that I was the only Asian in the entire school for three years. I smile at that fact. I am easily recognized as Asian on my face, but then in the 8th grade I was known as Asian by my laugh, my smile, and my smart aleck remarks.
Asian: a small two year old with paint on her face and floor and walls and ceiling.
Asian: pig tails and glow sticks.
Asian: head banging and rock music.
Asian, a nonstop smile, a giggly tummy, and a guilty conscious when consuming gummy bears.
Asian: fierce with ninja stars and chopsticks.
Asian: artsy with dragons and calligraphy.
Asian: pointed out and up front and centered.
Megan is a name to be written on paper. Megan is meant for teachers and distant family. Megan is meant for formal documents. Asian is for my friends, it's for my art, it's for my music, it's for my tantrums, it's for my air, and it's for my fire.
Asian is me. Megan is just my Name.
Let me ask you, if you could rename YOURSELF, who would you be?
9 comments:
Good question! This was really cool. She really put a lot of thought into this. You really love your job don't you?!
wow. that was beautiful.
if i had a choice i've always thought i'd want to be asian. that's so cool that your student knows her own magic so well.
i like my name.
uh, this is such a good question, and such a good essay that your student wrote.
it's funny to me because i've never liked my name. i feel like it's a boring, middle-aged name. but if i try to think of any other name to be called i just can't, y'know? nothing else seems to fit.
so just call me jo, i guess. that, i like.
Awesome piece!
If I had to give myself a new name, it would be...Megan.
Just kidding. (But I DO like that name. Maybe it's because I am without fornication, haha.)
D'Arcy, this is brilliant! I'm passing this along to my SIL who teaches Literature and Writing to teenage girls. She's awesome, too. :)
You guys are awesome! I DO love my job and the end of the year is just a fun fun time because I save Cyrano de Bergerac until then and what teenagers don't like a romantic love triangle full of witty banter from a man with an incredibly large nose.
I love my name. I wouldn't change it.
Hi! I'm Boquina's SIL. I did use this as a writing prompt for my girls and they loved it. We got in to some great discussions with my class that is doing The Great Gatsby at the moment, because of how Gatsby "creates" himself and changes his name. Great stuff. Thanks!
Ah, but I have. More than once ; -)
Loved this. wish I taught at the same school as you and could bunce ideas off each other.
I started life as a "Cindy." Seriously.
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