Do you like your name?

I’d like to know, really I would because It’s so hard to chose a name for someone else and I have often wondered if my parents made the right choice for me.

You see whenever I talk to myself I say "Self" as in "That was stupid Self, why did you sew the waist band of those pirate pants on inside out??? Hmm, Self are you that Dumb?" I never use my name I think it would feel a little strange saying "Hello Sarah, what did you go and say that for, now they think you’re crazy." Maybe its because Sarah is such a common name that I feel a little like I’m talking to someone else.

I’m that way in supermarkets too, I never respond to my name called out in any public place really. I mean why bother. I would end up with the worst casse of whiplash ever treated by an opportunistic chiropractor and 9 times out of 10 no make that 99 times out of 100 just to make the point stronger, It is not meant for me.

Also it just doesn’t sound right. It’s not a jaunty chat to yourself sort of name. If it was, Sam, or Jo or even Dot maybe but you start throwing Sarah around in your own head and you come off sounding pompous.

But does all this mean that I’m not happy, that I would swap a common name for something unique, something with a little pizzazz. Oddly enough, even though a funky stand alone name would be cool the answer is no. Sarah is pretty cool, I mean take the meaning, who else can legitimately claim to be a princess, well other than a real legitimate princesses that is. To really appreciate the edginess generated by pronouncing this name correctly you really need to go to the source. The movie The Labyrinth, the way my name slid so deliciously off David Bowie’s tongue was the single bright moment in the life of a child who so desperately wanted a name that was able to be shortened should the need arise. So no, other than having a few self identity issues inside my own head, I really do think my parents picked a winner, I just hope my kids think the same when they’re my age.