Our names define us, to a certain extent. In my opinion, names were a bigger deal during Beowulf's time than they are now, but we can find many instances in our lives today in which we are affected by our names in some way. Looking at different parts of my full name enables me to analyze different trends that I see. My first name has never truly impacted me or my life in drastic ways. Other than many people mispronouncing or misspelling it, I cannot think of any strong effect that my first name has had. One nickname that I have been given, however, is "Banana" or "Ana Banana." These have developed through rhyming, but they are not uncommon nicknames for someone named Ana - this silly nickname has existed for many years. Something interesting about my name is actually the lack of a name. I was never given a middle name, which usually alarms people at first. In Argentina, it is very common to only have a first and a last name, whereas here in the United States, almost everyone has a middle name. This clearly portrays cultural differences, and how they can affect someone and how they are perceived in society. Finally, my last name - Iglesias. When many people first see or hear it, they immediately notice that it is from another language. Many mispronounce it, spell it incorrectly, or even attempt to say it in Spanish. Although most people "have fun" with my last name, it definitely has an impact on the way people view me - some people form stereotypes about me, based on my name, that never leave and that always have an effect on the way they see me, be it negatively or positively.
Many dilemmas can result from being "two," or both an individual, as well as part of a larger group. I see this in many different aspects of my life. A small-scale example is in group projects at school. While every member of the group must work together to create a great project, different grades are awarded, most of the time, to each individual student. This means that I must not only assure myself that I am being well-represented as an individual in this larger group, but also that the product that we all create together in the end is strong. This creates some problems at times, like unfair distribution of responsibilities, and group members who begin to boss everyone else in the group around.
Another example of being "two" that I have experienced comes into play at dance conventions/competitions. I attend these competitions with my dance studio, meaning that I am there to represent CC & Company Dance Complex. But, I am also there to represent myself well, for there are several solo achievements awarded in addition to group awards. This presents a kind of moral dilemma in a sense, because although I am a member of the larger whole of my dance studio and I must work together with everyone else in order to perform well in the competitions, I also want to make myself stand out. The moral or ethical question that is raised in this kind of situation is, "How much of the team's success am I willing to sacrifice in order to succeed, myself?" Being "two" is something we see in our lives daily, yet something that many of us have still not figured out completely. There is a constant struggle present in all of us between furthering one's self in society, while at the same time working for the good of "the group."
I really like the way you linked your name to the culture identity that it creates for yourself. This is something that I can say I have done before is characterizing a person based on their name before, so your post makes me very aware of what I have done before and make me think of not doing it in the future. I also think the example of the group projects in school is very useful in providing the idea of 2 because almost everyone can see when certain people do more work on group projects but the only reason they do it is because they want the grade and if their group doesn't do the work it could still affect them.
ReplyDeleteAnna... Haha jk. I liked how you linked your last name to people creating an interpretation about you based on your last name. I think that people creating these views on people who have foreign last names is all to typical in todays society. These stereotypes can really affect these people because they could not fit the stereotype in any way shape or form but they are treated like they fit the stereotype because their last name does. I think that its something that people of foreign ethnicity have to really work hard for to change people's views about them that they had previously made based on a persons last name. Overall great job Anita.
ReplyDeleteThe middle name thing is interesting- if your last name was hypenated, would that stand in as a middle name?
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