My last name holds a bit of significance and that's because people from my hometown know my family, one way or another. Whether they went to school with them, taught them, taught withthem, or even had their kids be taught by them, the minute I say my last name, someone will always have something to say. Usually, I get "Oh, I know your dad/granny/aunt!" followed by a whole story about how it was being with them years ago. Sometimes, I feel like I get treated differently because they now know who I'm related to. That's cool and all, but don't let my last name define who I am because I am not my grandmother or aunt, but I am really not my dad.

According to stories, my dad was this superstar athlete who went on to be an amazing coach and teacher at the local high school. So what do you think people expected of my brother and I growing up? To become athletes (my brother actually played basketball all of his childhood and teenage years) and then to possibly stay home and become teachers...absolutely not. Like all little girls do when they're younger, they want to make their dad proud, so I took a stab at playing different sports; I know how to play football, basketball, softball, golf, and I can even fish, but I didn't like any of those and I quit playing them because sports is what made my dad who he is.

I don't want my dad's past and present occupations to define who I am or who I should aspire to be. My last name should not define me and my dad's reputation should not define me. Who I am as a person in society and how I see myself should be the only thing that matters.

My last name is not who I am.

I am the girl who worked four years in high school to get an Arion award for choir. I am the girl who spent all of her freshman year volunteering for various organizations in my community. I'm the girl who found time to waitress, attend band/color guard practice, and make good grades in high school. That was me. That is me. I didn't want to try out for sports because my dad was a superior athlete; I wanted to be the girl who teachers knew they could count on, even if I had a lot of other things on my plate. I have spent eighteen years in a shadow that I was just born into and it took me four years to realize that it's just the territory that comes with my last name and being from a small town, but none of that should matter.

I love my family and will always hold my name to my heart, but that's one of the reasons why I'm excited to move out of my hometown and essentially be in a place where nobody knows my name. I get to show people who I really am and not have people just assume who I am because of my last name. My name is apart of me, but I choose to not let that define who I am.