What is in a name?
I remember it was about 25 years ago one cold monday morning when I arrived in this planet. I was quickly labelled Sheila by my mother.In full ( I hate to do this) Sheila Patricia Kwamboka. They did that so that they could identify me from the rest of the 4billion people in the planet in 1985.
Okay Ill tell you how it happened. When my mother was thinking of names to call her new born baby daughter, her and her friends could not agree on names. My mother was stuck on Sheila, which means lass by the way, while her friends were stuck on patricia. And ofcourse Kwamboka I was named after a great aunt who had passed on. Kwamboka means crossing the river.
As I accumulated years, I assumed the name as I was required to. In school, my birth certificate,my passport, and when I turned 18, I had it on my National Identity card. So its official. In the system I'm Miss Sheila Patricia Kwamboka.
But in reality,I dont feel like a Sheila. Im a spontaneous, Passionate, Smart, Curious,Creative, Fun loving, Caring, Unpredictable human being with so much versatility. How can the name Sheila carry all that character in just six letters.
In all honesty, I think the problem is all in naming people before you get to know who they are. A name should be a title that best describes you. That when someone says 'I want to introduce you to my friend,Sheila', the person can already be able to figure out what kind of person I am.
No informed parent in their right mind in this day and age would name their new born baby boy, Hitler, or Genghis Khan, Or Idi amin for obvious reasons.If not so obvious,this names are all synonymous with evil. You might as well name your child satan.
I just think if I had been involved in the process of selecting a name for my persona, it would be Kwamboka, which was shortened by a friend of mine to Kwambox. So my mother did a good job, although Im not so sure about the choice her friends made.
Im just saying.
