My Name

Every parent has a reason behind every name they give to their children. Most people, especially in Africa, name their children following the circumstances around the child's birth and rarely look at the implications that name has on the child. I don't have a tribal name, all of my siblings do and sometimes I wondered why I was given just a Biblical name without a traditional name included to it.

My Aunt was married to a white man. Fortunately they visited my family a few days after I was born and the white man decided to call me by the name which I bear till today "Shem". It wasn't a name initiated by any of my parents and they never cared to give me an additional name, but settled with that which the white man named me.

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Growing up I became curious to know what the name means. It was biblical, but it was a name rarely used. I realized Shem means To be renown, a celebrated person and looking at the biblical figure of the person Shem, I was satisfied with the meaning. I'm not yet a celebrity, but I notice people love to hang around me even though I'm an introvert somehow. People easily notice me whenever I go, even when I try to hide myself from being noticed. I may not specifically say if it's because of the meaning my name carries, but I believe there's power in the name we bear.

This is in response to the Contest. by ecencystar. The contest is still active for participation