So what really is in a name? Is it the meaning or the legacy attached to it that makes it so important? People say that a name changes everything, it can change who you are or who want to be. But, does it really, have an impact on who we become? Does fate have a role to play? I guess we all have to figure that one out for ourselves. But anyway, here's the story of my name, in case any of you were wondering.
‘Erica’, derived from the Old Norse, usually taken to mean ‘eternal ruler’ or ‘ever-powerful’ is in stark contrast to how I feel most of the time. The meaning of my name evokes connotations of strength and responsibility, in my opinion, both to myself and to those who I meet in the course of my life. However, the meaning of my name has absolutely no bearing on why it is my name, ‘Erica’ just happened to be a five-letter, easy to spell in Devanagari name, which is what my parents were looking for to go with my endless surname (Mascarenhas).
So, an innocent baby was given the responsibility of being some ‘ever powerful eternal ruler’. When I learnt what my name meant, at the age of 13, I felt like I was supposed to be doing something with my life and I wasn’t. but, time and patience both taught me that the ‘power’ my name bestowed on me, did not require me to do great things in life but, it required me to be kind, compassionate, generous and humble (all qualities a good ever-powerful eternal ruler should possess).
I choose to believe that I live my life based on these principles (not that I don’t slip up, because I am human after all) and that I sure my ‘power’ to help people. I guess fate really did have a hand to play in why my name is my name after all.
Xoxo Erica
Ps: I'm sorry for being MIA for the past year. Last year was a tough one. College got the better part of me, my anxiety was at an all-time high and I ended up losing someone very close to me but, I'm saving that for another post. Anyway, I'm doing much better now. I promise to be more regular. Thank you for being so patient. Until next time!