My first name is Ronald, and I absolutely hate it. I’m the third, and my parents chose it because they couldn’t agree to anything else. Which I’m also thankful for, because my mother had some pretty shit ideas. They expected that the whole “Ronald McDonald” thing would be over, but that was not entirely correct. That’s pretty much why I’ve just gone by RJ my entire life, and I’ve actually considered changing my name to just RJ, because I’m tired of being referred to as Ronald. The first day of class always sucks because during attendance when they call “Ronald”, I have to say “well yes, but never call me that.” It’s pretty safe to say that there won’t be a Ronald Davis IV for that reason in itself. I’m not sure if it’s an easy, or hard process to change your name and I’m not really sure it’s worth the effort at this stage in my life, when I have much more important and relevant things to worry about instead of my name. 

Most names have some kind of meaning. For example, Robert means bright fame. It makes you wonder if Bob Ross’s parents were somehow aware of his future when looking at his name’s meaning. Because this one name out of millions foretold this man’s future, I have decided all names have prophetic powers. Since I have no idea what my own future holds I shall now look up the meaning of my first and middle names and see what awaits me.

The First Name

My first name is Zoe. It is from a Greek word meaning life. So, I guess that’s a good start? Life is important, right? Maybe my middle name will have some sort of promise? Still, I spell it differently than most people so perhaps there was never going to be anything there.

The Middle Name/Last Try

My middle name is Elizabeth. It took me forever to figure out how to spell as a child. Surely with that story of the struggle behind it, this name will reveal to me all the greatness my future holds. Will I have great fortune? Fame? A hairless cat? Here it is! It means…

God is my oath. Since I’m not religious I don’t think this one is summing up my future.

Ending Thoughts

I can’t believe I was wrong. The science was so sound! My name should have predicted my future. Oh well, back to finding out my future the old-fashioned way-by living my life.

Assignment-

This assignment, What’s In A Name?, was pretty straightforward. For it I had to tell you something, anything about my given names. Immediately I thought of the meaning behind names. Wondering how to incorporate this back to the theme I looked up Bob Ross’s name, Robert. This inspired me to come up with my wacky idea of writing this about whether our names could predict our future. It was fun to write and name meanings have always been interesting to me.

It was worth 2 stars.

I chose the assignment “What’s In A Name?” https://assignments.ds106.us/?s=what%27s+in+a+name&post_type=stufftodo&assignmenttypes=writingAssignments to explain early in the life of this website why the title, “D’Juneau?”  It happens to be a play on the name of my home of origin, Juneau, Alaska.  I left when I was only 4 but was imprinted on the magnificence of the mountains, waters and wild of the land. I was transplanted to the small town of Waukon in the middle of dairy farming in the Driftless Area of Northeast Iowa.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area

Waukon.  Driftless.  What’s in a name??  Makes you wonder.  I always felt like an outsider and when I was 17 and out of high school, I walked on, drifted away, to college.  First it was only 20 miles away to Luther College and then the summers in Yellowstone, then the leap across the Rockies to Oregon State University.

But growing up, the word “Juneau” was an unusual name so whenever it came up, I always made it funny and still do, d’juneau?  Then, when people figured out how to pronounce it, the awkward and strange became familiar to them.  It also made me, the awkward and strange outsider from Alaska, okay and familiar to them.  All the while, they never knew what I was doing, which was simply working to break into, and belong in their circle.  D’Juneau what I mean?

Then there’s my first name, Jenny.  A jenny is a female ass and I can be quite stubborn, especially when someone tells me I can’t do something because I’m a woman.  Like when I was told I wasn’t allowed to go to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School because I was enlisted and married to an enlisted man.  Or that I couldn’t jump out of a helicopter and go SPIE rigging.  Or drive a tank, or go to Okinawa, Japan, pregnant while on active duty when women were supposed to get out of the Marines; or teach a platoon of women the manual of arms with rifles for a parade when specifically told not to.  All of these things I did anyway.  Just Being Jenny.

I’m sure at this point you all know my name is Lauren and if you don’t it’s pretty self-explanatory from my blog name. I have a few different nicknames from the people closest to me, my family calls me “Lee,” but don’t ask me where that came from because I have no idea. Some of my friends call me “Lo” and “Laur” but those are a little more obvious nicknames for Lauren.  I’ve been told from time to time that I don’t look like a “Lauren,” which is odd cause… that’s my name. I mean really, what does a “Lauren” look like? Or mean? Well here is what I found out about my name…

Wikipedia tells me that my name could mean “laurel tree”, “sweet of honor”, or “wisdom”. I’d say I’m full of brains, so wisdom could make sense. (lol) It was the most popular in America in the 80s and 90s. It makes sense since I was born in the 1990s. 

According to the website Behind the Name, it was first popular as a female name by the actress Betty Jean Perske, who used Lauren Bacall as her stage name.

And last but certainly not least, good ole’ Urban Dictionary. “Lauren” is 

• Crazy and not bothered about people’s opinions.
• A little stubborn
• Has a great sense of humor. 
• “The kind of person you want to keep in your life forever because she really can brighten your darkest days.”
• Not quick to trust anyone but she’s also not quick to judge.
• “She is human yet at the same time angelic.”

Urban Dictionary had some pretty interesting things to say about my name, above are some of the descriptions of a “Lauren” that I found. 

Signing off!

I’m just typing things to build the suspense, this is a blatant attempt at clickbait. Lets hope I can do this correctly lol. Aren’t you guys all so curious as to what answers you’ve been waiting for?? You’ll just have to click to find out, because you’re not gonna know based on the little snippet you can see here! mwahahahahaha! ((pay no attention if you have not come here from the ds106 mastersite :))

This assignment wants me to tell y’all something about my blog name! so that’s what I’m gonna do!

romanticist cliche . That’s me! As it says on my blog title, that’s sort of my entire being. Romanticist as in hopeless romantic- which I am- and Romanticist as in the artistic and literary movement- which I Love. While I was setting up this blog, I was sitting at my desk, where I have an ABUNDANCE of buttons decorating my workspace. One of them, which I got at Riverby Books (10/10 recommend if y’all are in fxburg!) says- you guessed it- romanticist cliche. The moment I saw it I knew I had to have it. I’m also a sucker for anything cliche. I like to pretend I’m not. But I am. And I’m finally truly embracing that, which is lovely and wonderful. The low caps is also significant, my natural state of typing is in low caps, mostly because its so much prettier than the normal rules of grammar are, but also because then I can use capital letters to Make Emphasis and is even more powerful. Plus the low caps plus the words romanticist cliche plus the everything else about my blog just gives such a cohesive vibe and makes me stupid happy. So there you have it!

Voila! This assignment was relatively straightforward, but I mostly chose it because I wanted to talk about how cute I think my blog is, and also because I do want to explain why I went with chill and subdued rather than Wild and Eighties (which is also a GREAT vibe!!!). There is a little bit of a struggle in opening up about how cutesy and romantic I am, but I have gotten more and more open since I’ve arrived at college, so not too much of a struggle. Definitely recommend this assignment because I’m nosy and want to know the reason behind all y’alls blog names :). I was gonna attach a photo of the button is question, but I am currently far away from my dorm and thus will not be doing so. Apologies, you’ll just have to trust me!

toodles! -liz

For this assignment, I decided to ask myself the timeless Shakespearean question, What’s In A Name? (And the not-so timeless Dave Matthews-ian question, Could I Have Been Anyone Other Than Me?) For this assignment, I had to, “Write a blog in which you tell us something, anything, about either your given names or your blog name(s).” Well, why not both?

What’s In A Name: Blog Name

Why Melody? Why unbeheldmelody? This is a pretty short story: I actually chose the name some years ago when I started posting artwork online. The name comes from the song, ‘Lucia’s Theme,’ from the video game, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. Ah, the good ol’ days of simple Playstation. Lunar 2 is a game that I remember fondly; the songs, voice acting, game play, and storyline really resonate with me. I wanted to take a part of it with me, so I examined the lyrics of my favorite in-game song to find a name for my online persona. ‘Lucia’s Theme’ goes like this:

? When I was alone as one,
my eyes were as blind, I know.
Sky brilliant with blue elegance,
I couldn’t behold.

When I was alone as one,
My heart was as ice, so cold.
Wind whispering sweet melodies,
I could not behold. ?

Here, I took the phrase, “could not behold” and shortened it/put it in past tense to “unbeheld.” I took “melodies” from the line “Wind whispering sweet melodies,” and made it the singular form, “melody.” Then I just squished the two words together to make unbeheldmelody.
To me, it means, “I couldn’t appreciate the beauty around me before I met you,” which is a sentiment that I hold dear. We all have someone in our lives who mean the world to us (boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, sibling, parent, pet, mentor, etc.), someone who makes things just a little less grey when they’re around. My blog name is akin to my “optimistic side,” where I am reminded that the world isn’t so bad as long as I have _____. (The fill-in-the-blank for me currently is my boyfriend. c: And my dogs of course!) My actual name, however, is a bit more glass half-empty…

What’s In A Name: Actual Name

My first name is sooooo frustrating. It was a hugely popular baby name when I was born. I was never the only Jessica in class at school.

RAMBLING ROSES

I feel you so much, author of the blog site, RAMBLING ROSES. I too, share this hugely-popular-in-the-80’s name. My mother named me Jessica because there is a naming convention in my family where we all start with the letter, ‘J.’ I was the last born, so there weren’t that many decent ‘J’ names left to choose from. It was either Jessica, or Janette Leann. Considering those were the only options my mother was considering, I’m thankful my name is Jessica. (Back in the 80’s, there was no Googling baby names).

It is always a bit frustrating to hear your name called and immediately afterwords you hear, “no, not you, the other Jessica.” (Thankfully, there are fewer and fewer Jessica’s to contend with nowadays, since I’m a whole decade older than most of my current classmates). Yet, having a common name is not what bothers me most. What really “grinds my gears” is that I’ve never felt like the name fit me. To my ears, Jessica is someone who wears Ugg boots and drinks pumpkin spice lattes. (No offense to any Jessica’s or Ugg boot wearers reading this). She has a ton of friends- a real social butterfly. Or at the very least, she’s a bubbly, off-beat teacher, who is known to burst into song (New Girl). Bubbly, social, pretty, kooky.

If I could sum up “me,” it would be the opposite of all those words. I’m extremely shy/quiet, I can count the number of friends I have on one hand and would have fingers to spare, I’m nihilistic/apathetic, I appreciate dark humor, I like bitter things like dark chocolate and un-sweet tea, I’m always tired, and you’ll probably never catch me in anything other than jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt that I didn’t think very hard about.

Now, one could argue that my connotation of “Jessica” is a mistaken belief, a delusional stereotype of Jessica’s everywhere, and just plain not true.

On the one hand, you’re right. My old roommate Jessica did not fit my description anymore than I do. She loved Mercedes Lackey novels, Gaia Online, and Ren Faires. She practiced Paganism. (A roommate bonus because she would go out onto Campus Walk to scare the missionaries away who were bothering students). This was no pumpkin spice latte Jessica. She was maybe a little kooky, but not New Girl kooky.

But, on the other hand, no one seems to think I represent “Jessica” either, because people often get my name wrong. Most of the time, I will be called Jenn. Twice, I’ve been called Autumn. And on more than one occasion, my own mother will call me Jaime, and then realizing that that is not my name, she will call me, “whatever your name is.”

So, what’s in a name? The answer is- a whole lot of assumptions which may or may not be true. A “Jessica” likes Starbucks frappucinos, just like a “Karen” will want to speak to a manager. I recognize that this kind of thinking is silly at best, and damaging at worst. We shouldn’t judge a person on their name or what flavors of coffee they enjoy. (I happen to like fall flavors, so I’m taking a jab at myself). But it’s still sooooo frustrating when ‘inner you’ is a Lyra Melody Exquemelin the third, and ‘outer you’ is Jessica.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my pumpkin spice latte is getting cold.

As you all know, my name is Morgan. Growing up, I never really had a nickname that stuck; it was always just “Morgan.”

Today, a majority of people I know call me Morgan, but now I can say I have a nickname. My closest friends call me Medio, and yes, it is the Spanish for medium. I have a little bit of Puerto Rican in me, but I speak very little Spanish.

My nickname comes from my freshman year of college at a different university. I was relativity quiet and didn’t talk to people who lived on the same floor as me in my dorm. I am not a shy person, but it takes me a while to warm up to people, and be comfortable. There were these two confident, loud, charismatic girls who lived on my floor which I would run into in the common area often, but rarely spoke to.

That year I was the only person on that floor that had a car. I overheard the girls talking about having to run errands, and I offered to drive them since I was on my way out too. The rest of the day was pretty mundane, but this shopping trip sparked one of the most important friendships in my life. Weeks passed, and us three were inseparable. I am not sure how the conversation sparked, but Kate joked that she was the oldest so her nickname should be grande, Nina was the youngest so hers would be pequeña, and me, medio.

Time passed, and we all have moved far apart from each other, but Kate and Nina are still my closest friends. We even have matching tattoos! Although they again go by their birth names, they still call me medio. No one else calls me that, but when I hear it I know I am around the best people I have ever encountered

My first name is sooooo frustrating. It was a hugely popular baby name when I was born. I was never the only Jessica in class at school. I think my mom sort of regrets that. My middle name is Carrie, and I would bet money that it comes from the Stephen King book. He is my mom’s favorite author, and she’s always been evasive about why she chose it. I think she’s embarrassed, but she shouldn’t be. But doing something so incredibly geeky wasn’t really a thing back then. These days, I know several people who have named kids after fandoms.

Now my last name, I chose. I changed it when I got married, and my husband is still mortified. Like, I know I didn’t HAVE to. But he continues to assure me of that, as though I have ever in my life done anything because someone told me I have to. He knows better than that. Telling people ‘No’ is pretty much my favorite sport. Also it’s a bit late, it’s kind of a done deal. Also weirdly I have had way less pronunciation issues with 11 letters of German than I had with my four letter maiden name. Go figure.

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet  17 September 1743 – 28 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist.  Condorcet descended from the ancient family of Caritat.
My mother always told me we had a famous French name, but when I grew older my elder brother told me another story.
My mother was a foundling and nobody knew her name. She was taken care of by an elderly lady who named her Caritat because of  she being given to her. It is a Latin word meaning giving.
My mother did learn a lot of her new mother, who was a teacher in a Midwestern town. My mother went West with a bloke who was shot by some Injuns and that is why she became a teacher in the DS106 City.

I decided to complete this writing assignment because I never really thought about what my name means to me or why my parents decided to name me what they did. So, I decided to take this assignment in several directions. This assignment has definitely provided me a different perspective on how I view my name and how important names can be and meanings behind them.

First, I asked my parents why they named me Natalie. They said they named me Natalie after Natalie Cole. Natalie Cole was the daughter of the signer Nat King Cole. She followed in her father’s footsteps and was a very successful singer and musician. I find it a bit funny that I am named after a singer because I cannot sing very well at all nor, do I play any musical instruments. However, I do like to sing. So, maybe that is the little bit I got from being named after a singer. Next, is my opinion of my own name. I really haven’t thought much about it until this assignment. But, as I think about it when I was little and learning how to spell and write my name I was always appreciative that it wasn’t really long like some of my friends’ names. I remember thinking, “I sure am glad my name only has seven letters”. Now, as I brainstorm there is one main reason I like my name. That reason is, in my opinion the name Natalie is common but not too common. I like the idea that when I go to new classes or meetings I generally don’t run into anyone named Natalie so, I don’t have to use a nickname or my last name like others with more common names such as, Joe, Will, Emily, Samantha, Sarah, etc. But, it is common in that people know of the name Natalie and don’t have trouble pronouncing it. Also, just every once in a while I will meet someone with the name of Natalie which we generally both find to be a coincidence.

For this week’s task I was required to complete writing assignments that add up to six stars. This writing assignment was worth two stars.