weekly assignment: day one

After watching the video and doing the reading, one thing both have contributed was my realization into identity. Speaking into identity, I am going into depth about how our name represents us and our ethnic/cultural background. My name Ayah has many meanings. It comes from many origins as well giving it its different meanings. As an Arab girl with Palestinian/Jordanian descent, I will be discussing the Arabic origin of the name Ayah. The name Ayah means “verse” in Arabic. More specifically, it is verses of the Quran which is the holy book for Muslims. That is the meaning of my name as an Arab Muslim girl.

Now my name represents me in many ways. It represents me as a girl that comes from Arab ethnic background, a girl that can speak Arabic, and is Muslim. That’s not the only representation of my name. Most people wouldn’t even know if I was Arab or Muslim, even though I have my Arab ethnic features. That is because my name comes from many different origins with different meanings. I see my name as a unique one. I love how growing up my entire life, my name has been pronounced in many different ways. Not only is it unique but there is diverse to it as well.

People may experience hardship due to feeling that their name may not even match their ethnic/racial features. That shouldn’t be the case, because the name you were given was given for a reason and should be embraced along with your ethnic/cultural background. Your name may not even matter when it comes to representing, but it does make you who you are. I  choose to embrace my name because of its meaning and background which is truly beautiful. Allowing yourself to have appreciation for your own background including your name allows you to embrace yourself as a whole.