What Do You Call Yourself?

Not what others call you? Those words cannot be published here, but what do you call yourself?

There is the name that is printed on the birth certificate but that was given you by your parents, like a pets name. Your last name is usually the last name of your father to carry on the ancestry.

So you call yourself “John” or “Mary” or “Fido” but what about nicknames? My older brother was named “George” after his father and his father’s father. I didn’t know that because his nickname was “Chick” and that is what I called him.

Nicknames are sometimes are self created or given as a second name. It might be a description like “Stretch” or “Tubs” or “Lefty”. It could be an Indian name like “Wolf who bays at the moon and then gets eaten by the bear”.

As you get older you get titles like “Pitcher” or “Quarterback” or “Captain”. You get employment and get titles like “Editor” or “Manager” or “Waste Management Technician”. You can get accolades or awards calling you “No. 1 Salesman for 1982” or “Top of the Pops” or “World’s Greatest Dad”.

Part of our introduction to a stranger is what you call yourself. Are you Christian or Jewish? Are you single or married? Where do you live? What model car do you drive? The list goes on and on.

What do you not want to call yourself? “Fat”, “Ugly”, “Old”, “Sick”, and “Stupid” are just a few examples you would rather not use as a description of yourself to anyone else (or to yourself).

There are lots of books and such that give advice on how to change your personality to present a better you. If you don’t like your given name, you can legally change it to whatever you want. There is no ancestry because you are the beginning of the family tree. If you are tired of the nickname “Sunshine” you can change it to “Tiger Mom” at no cost.

Check your profiles and see if that describes you and you would like to be thought of.

This call’s for you.