The Meaning in a Name

In Beowulf, names have a lot of meaning and give context to where someone comes from. As many names in our society do, they may help us to understand peoples' backgrounds and historical significance. Just by sharing your name, someone can get an idea of where you may be from or your family's history. My name, for example, has Japanese origins coming from kanji characters (the Japanese writing system). Emi is made up of the characters 惠美, written in kanji. My parents chose this name because they wanted something that could be both American and Japanese. Emi is a very popular name in Japan, but it is also commonly used as a nickname for girls in America named Emily. The two kanji characters in my name have different meanings. The first one standing for "megumi", meaning blessing, and the second one "utsukushii", meaning beauty. By the time my parents had me, they had been trying to have a baby for years and years. When I was finally born six years after my sister, they named me Emi because to them I was a "blessing", after years of trying. Having a name that comes from Japanese characters that hold meanings within themselves defines me and almost everyone who has a Japanese name. The strong meanings behind these characters define what my parents believed me to be when I was born, and as I go on through life. 

As Anna Quindlen explains in her essay "The Name is Mine", we often feel as if we have two sides of yourself. This is also prevalent in Beowulf, as we see Beowulf struggle internally with his self-doubt and physical strength, while at the same time fighting external conflicts with various monsters. In my view, we often experience battles with our own self every time we are faced with an external one. In my life, the most prominent example of this would be when my parents got a divorce. I was in 2nd grade when my parents decided to split up and get a divorce, so at the time it was a very confusing situation to understand. I knew that things between them were not good since they would fight all the time, but I didn't quite understand what divorce would mean for us as a family. As my sister and I began going between houses and seeing our parents on a weekly basis, it was hard for me to adjust to this new lifestyle. It was a very hard time for everyone in our family, but me being so young I felt as if I did not have a say in anything, or that anyone was even checking up on me to see how I was handling it all. Internally I felt like my world was falling apart, and that everything that was normal to me was becoming unfamiliar. Yet, being the "mature" 2nd grader I was, I tried to understand my parents and get accustomed to the new lifestyle. It was hard to get used to something that was so different, but I continued to deal with it and help my parents out as I could. Eventually, I came to terms with the situation, and as I have grown (and actually matured), I've realized that it's just a part of our life that I have to accept.