Name Game Reflection

Look, I'll be honest - for me, memorizing names is like being able to polish off an entire container of hummus/guacamole/box of cereal/etc... it's a gift. I don't know what I did to deserve such a super power, but it lives within me. Some people can lift cars/do calculus/speak 34 languages, I can remember your name. Now, I know what you're thinking, 'wow, Angela, that is THE most impressive thing I have ever heard. You should probably be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!' And to that I say, agreed. HOWEVER, I like to stay humble by reminding myself that everyone is, in fact, capable to obtain this magical gift if only they practiced these few simple steps:

1) ASK the person their name. OKAY, fine, seems obvious, but not always. A lot of us don't really care what you're name is. Am I wrong???

2) Say it a few times. Repeat it. Use it in a sentence. Come up with some rhyming words. Even a Jedi name master won't get it on the first try.

3) Give yourself a reason to remember it. Okay, I'll admit it, I am really good at remembering the names of people who I find attractive - SO WHATTTTTTT!?

and finally...

4) Make the commitment. If you know that you're going to see this person again, you need to do all you can to remember her/his name. We all know that one person (or 80) who you've met like 6,000 times and they STILL don't remember your name. I have one word for you... douche.

ANYWAYSSSS - this week was GREAT! I was able to learn all 30 of my kid's names by Tuesday and have spent the week working harder than you know (not really) to learn the 70 something names of the people in my grad program. I think that I know just about everyone - some of the multiple subject peeps are a little fuzzy. But whatever. If I haven't shaken your hand then I haven't really met you...

On that note, I hope that you took this week to make an extra effort to learn some names. We don't think about it much, but our names are almost exactly linked to our identity - which can be a really awesome but also potentially heavy thing. Even though I don't feel especially connected to my name, it still rubs me the wrong way, or makes me feel uncomfortable, when someone calls me by the wrong name. Automatically they are forming a new identity for me and that just doesn't fly. Which is why kids tend to get so frustrated when you call them the wrong name multiple times in one day (sorry Shaun!) - they're just beginning to decide who they are and here you are messing that all up for them.

So let's go ahead and end this week with a greater appreciation for names. Learn them, remember them. Use them.