Growing up, I wasn't fond of my name. Most of my teachers assumed I was a Caucasian female on the first day of school. And even when I raised my hand to signify I was actually in attendance, I was often mistaken for having a question. Back then, I never thought about the type of name I should have based upon my appearance; I just knew Reygan wasn't it. Of course, my family and friends had what seemed to be a never ending cycle of jokes and nicknames. Both of my parents are self-proclaimed comedians. (You had to have really tough skin to survive in our home.) And I did. I don't know if you remember the protagonist in the movie The Exorcist. Her name was Reagan. Outside of being possessed by a demon, she did some pretty gross things in all three of the movies. (I'm sure you can imagine the jokes I encountered.) Then I was linked to former President Reagan and his infamous Reaganomics. On top of that, I grew up in New York. There, unique names were expected. However, when I moved to Atlanta as a teenager . . . being a black, male kid named Reygan, 6'3, loves sports and gangster rap, lives in the suburbs-let's just say I stuck out like a sore thumb in my community. So, I decided to go by my middle name until my college years. It hurt my mom's feelings, but at the time, I felt like it was a better fit for my personality. When I graduated from high school, my mother explained why she named all of her children gender neutral names. (I have two brothers as well.) In short, it was her attempt to shield us from any type of bias, prejudice, or racism that a name could encourage. Both of my parents were born in the 1960's and they're biracial. They lived during the Civil Rights Movement and have experienced the many changes America has continued to encounter. Our parents knew that their children would technically be a mixture of Native Americans (Cherokee), African Americans, and Hispanic (Puerto Rican) Americans. However, instead of teaching us about the different races, they taught us that there is only one race-the human race. They didn't want our skin color or a name to define us. They raised us to not see a person's color, religion, or gender. But to try and actually see the person for who they really are in the inside. In some weird way, the names we were given were designed to always remind us of that. A lesson we were never supposed to forget. It wasn't until I reached my early twenties that things started to make a lot of sense. For starters, it's interesting having a name that is somewhat ambiguous. (Without seeing you, people are forced to judge you on your skill set and credentials before anything else.) Secondly, most people, especially women, compliment me on my name. They say it has a nice flow. Instead of calling me Rey, they insist on calling me Reygan. Lastly, I guess it is unique. So far, I'm the only Reygan Reed that populates in Google. (Lucky me.) In 2020, I feel completely different about my name. Nowadays it symbolizes growth, maturity, and evolution. My name is something that I had to grow into in order to understand it. And with that, I guess I do look like a Reygan. Now that you know my story, tell me yours. Why was your name chosen? Is it a family name? What does it mean? What does it mean to you? Don't be afraid to do a little research and have a few conversations before responding. When you are ready to share, click on Comments to leave your reply. |
AuthorMr. Reygan Reed is a 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Henderson Middle School. Archives
May 2021
Categories |