What's In A Name?

Anyone born with a difficult last name can relate to this Blip. Your name gets messed up from the day you are born, and you hear just about every imaginable rendition of it until the day you die. In fact, I've even heard my family name pronounced oddly by other Armenians.

Our family name defines who were are and our ethnicity. I cherish my name because it represents a group of people who have survived religious persecution, genocide, and communism. In fact, the second Republic of Armenia declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, just 2 years after a devastating earthquake.

25,000 people died.
50,000 people were injured.
500,000 people were left homeless.

It has taken years of hard labor to rebuild this nation. I have not visited Armenia and hope to go there one day in the near future. It is not a wealthy country, but is rich in culture and heritage. I look forward to walking on the soil of my ancestors, and visiting the many old churches in this very old land.

I found this baby bracelet with some of my other baby things, and realized that this was not mine, but my mom's. It certainly is too big for an infant. What makes it extra special is that it holds my family name, and reminds me of how fortunate I am to have one of those names that stands out and ties tongues.

What's in a name?

Everything.