I have mixed feelings about names. I see them as tools to get one’s attention, not really anything personal. Maybe that’s just me, but some must agree with me, right? Some shun their names, hate them. I almost feel like names can bring more harm than they can bring good. There are people in the world who lose the right to their name, some famous person takes it and they-the individual who owned it first-are no longer the owner of that name, they just share it with that person. For example, think of the name Michael. You think of Jordan, not the neighbor that used to annoy you years ago or the kid you went to school with. That name isn’t his, he has to share it. 

Some others don’t get to be called by their names, others take away that right and degrade them to hurtful words. Some names have a stereotype, positive or negative,  built into that name. Think of a name like Mary. Many people in history have been named Mary, the most iconic is more than likely Mary, Mother of God. People with the name Mary now may be seen under the stereotype that Mary played, a motherly figure. But most Mary’s aren’t that they are their own person with their own ideals.

Names are a lot of things, so I choose not to think about people by their names. I think about them based on their inner name, their personality, their intentions, and their ideas. Names have been taken for granted, in my opinion. Ruined by stereotypes and mean children, ruined by your favorite celebrities, ruined by all of the uncreative parents in the world. Names should mean something, they should be important to me, and they should absolutely be respected. But they don’t, they aren’t, and they won’t be.