Names

Have you ever thought about how important names are in our lives?

A name is magical. Giving a name to a thing or a living creature can be thought of as taking it into possession. And that is what our mothers do. They name us and thus make us their property.

Imagine this: Once a man, a grown-up man, told me that he hated his name and that he would never forgive his mother naming him 'Nigel'.
Why, I said, 'Nigel' is as good a name as any other, because that is what I think.

You have your name and you cannot change it. It would be naïve to think that even if you have it changed officially all your relatives will start calling you by the new one. You will always be what your mother called you.

I am lucky to have a name that I like. I have to admit, though, that as a little girl, I hated it. I wanted to be Klara, Kristyna, Karolina - the were the names for a little princess. Katerina, that was a name for an ordinary girl. I hated being called Katerina, anyway. All of my friends always called me Katka.

Then, one day, I learned what the name meant. Katerina is 'pure'.
On that day, I decided to live in accord with my name.

Coming to terms with your own name should be the first step on your way to self-respect.

Girls, remember this when you become mothers.