What's in a name?

I've fancied myself many things over the years, from nothing to a rock star to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. But the one thing that has always defined me, from my view of the world to the very core of my being is quite simple: a name is only how you are cataloged, it is not, nor could it ever be, who you are. My name for example, Elizabeth, has so many derivatives and nicknames and available spellings that I have my pick. But at the end of the day, it's not the whole of who I am. It's what I sign my checkbook with, and given how rarely I use that, it amounts to what my parents came up with 26 years ago. I respect it, I love it, and I will answer to it freely, regardless of situation or consequence, but it is still only a word. One word. One identifying character amongst millions of others that encompass a lifetime of experience and chaos and simply being. A name is an important part of who I am, or who anyone is, but it is only the beginning. And beginnings beg adventure, and I'm always up for that!

3/5/08