Pride

In English my name is pretty common. In Hindi my name means pride. It means the leader. It means the head. It is in charge. It is a new light bulb just turned on. For the first time ever. It is the small person standing up for everyone. It is a small voice among many. It is the one person speaking out for what is right.

My name comes from India. Just like my parents did. Sethi is a common last name in India. Many families have had it for many generations. My dad passed it to me from people long ago. Long, long ago. It started and now it has come to me as it has for many others. I can remember India well. All of the small houses, with endlessly busy streets and markets close by. I was born in the Chinese year of the snake. I do not know if that is good or bad. But, I think it is good luck, fortune and awkwardly clumsiness.

My name is like a little kid on a bike. Even if he falls, he still gets up and tries again. He wants to help other people. And then when the kid grows up he likes himself. He lives his dream with pride and speaks out for good and right.

I am not embarrassed about my name. I like it a lot myself. The kids at school are nice about my name. Actually, most of the time I don’t think about my name. Sometimes it means nothing at all. And other days, my name symbolizes me. There is no clear path. I like my name because other people have the same name sometimes. At least with my first name. I don’t feel left out of activities because of my name at all. That was the good thing about my parents. They gave me a first name that was common. It helped me fit in a bit. Shawn can be spelled different ways. Shawn can be spelled Sean, which is the Irish form. And Sean must mean a whole other thing. Shawn and Shaun are both American forms of the Irish Sean. Sean is the Irish form of John. 

I would not want to give myself a new name. I think that the name I have is good enough. My parents thought about my name and probably wanted it to be the way it is. I hope.

But in the end a name is just a combination of letters that sound good. It is just a designation of what you are. However, it can also be a secret code to identify yourself. A name is a secret code through history and time, which must be unlocked by going back to the origin and finding the truer meaning.