I am a plant. Lauren, crowned with laurels. Holly, a type of tree. Like a single blade of grass in a field. Surrounded by others exactly the same. Not one sticks out. Not one is special. Phipps. It has become meshed with my first name due to the lack of originality.
My name is white, seen everywhere on many different things. It is a black TV screen. A lecture. Homework. Boring. Given to me because no nicknames could be associated with it. Nickname. Something I desire. But why couldn’t my parents have known that?
Most people are named with family names. A great-grandmother. A grandmother. A mother’s maiden name. I must have the name of an old celebrity. Lauren Holly. Known to the generations before me. But not to mine. No one cares about a movie star that has faded out of the spotlight. Especially not her name.
Tia. Madison. Holly. All possible names for me. Uncommon. Unique. But I have Lauren along with most of the world. Madison coming from Wisconsin. And Holly coming from Holliston, Massachusetts.
I long for a new name. Something fun. Unique, but not weird. Like the color red, passionate and vibrant. Basketball. Dancing. Exhilarating. Exciting. At the very least, a nickname. Something my friends and family could call me. Something that would separate me from those other Laurens.
Easy choices. Homework or bas
ketball?
Alone or with friends? Having a good time or boredom? Lauren or Karen?
When Lauren is said, confusion begins. People wonder which they mean, as if all Laurens are the same. But we are not. And we deserve a special name.
Lauren is like a rock. Looked at, but never acknowledged. Never being able to tell one from another.
Names are not only names. They are an implied first impression. What do you think of when you hear Lauren? Probably other Laurens you know. Some you may hate. Some you may love. Caring. Selfish. Annoying. Funny. Responsible. Characteristics of Laurens, which have created stereotypes for all Laurens.
Although when I hear strange names, I love my name. There are times when some names just flow. Possibly with a different last name Lauren could flow. But I cannot change that. I can only change my name. Mackenzie. Chelsea. Rachel. All names that I want. But names that I cannot have. I can only have Lauren.