June 30, 2005

Identity

This was touched on in the book (chick-lit wedding voyeurism) that I'm reading, but is something I was pondering anyway.

How much is my sense of identity tied to my name? If I change my last name to Lee's am I giving up a part of me? Becoming a bit of him?

I've always felt my first name doesn't really describe me. Not a lot of Western names describe the person but I guess I've just never really felt like Jenni is adequate. Sometimes I'll hear my name and think "Oh yeah, weird. That's me."

If I changed my entire name would I still be the same person? Would I feel the same?

Keeping my own last name is a kind of feminist matter of pride. I don't hate my last name and I don't desperately want to get rid of it. By the same token I don't need to worry about keeping my name to pass it to the next generation because my brother's got that covered.

If I did change my name to Lee's I'd have the initials JD. Would anyone call me JD?

Posted by jenni at June 30, 2005 04:34 PM
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