A consideration of names;
I got asked a question recently-
That is "why did you change your name?" (paraphrasing)
And it sort of caught me off guard. I do not go by my given name, and I do not really introduce myself with it either. But it's not a deadname. It's just another name. It's what I'm called at home, and by a few teachers, and by my grandparents and cousins.
It's a name. It is my name, I suppose. But it's not the one I go by.
And then someone asked me why.
I'd never thought about it. The name I go by is a 'girl' name- so it shouldn't concern those who think that changing your name means your trans.
I go by Lizzy in day to day life- its connected to my middle name, but also just something I like. I think I may have begun to like it when I grew up watching LDShadowlady. Then I tried having people call me it... and I liked it.
Online I go by Sparks/Spark (or Lizzy). I think I started liking the name due to a book I read- one that is called Bitterblue (by Kristin Cashore). So sum it up- the main character is a princess-turned-queen at a young age. To escape the castle, at night she starts venturing out into the town under the name "Spark". And She's so much happier there.
Finally.. I think overall, Me changing my name is a marker of me growing up. I do not like the experiences I had when I went by my given name. So I changed it.
I am both my given name and my new one. They are both me. all my pseudonyms are me. I am the compilation of them all, each representing a part of me. And I'm not afraid of that. I like it.
