My Name | Teen Ink

My Name

January 28, 2009
By Emily Barkley BRONZE, Fukuoka-shi, Other
Emily Barkley BRONZE, Fukuoka-shi, Other
1 article 7 photos 0 comments

My Name 恵美里

I was adopted when I was just hours old. I don't remember my birth mother that well. My birth mother could not take care of me because she was only 15 at the time. My adopted parents didn't know if I was going to be a girl or a boy so they had to come up with two different names.

The adoption center is also the same place as where Mrs. Daniels* adopted Edward*. Mrs. Daniels is one of the teachers at my International School. My mom could have been Mrs. Daniels! But my parents had handed in the forms before Mrs. Daniels, if my parents had waited to hand in the forms my parents would have Edward and Mrs. Daniels would have had me. More like my parents would have had Logan and Mrs. Daniels would of have had Katrina, their name they chose for a girl.

If I was with Mrs. Daniels I would have been the oldest in the family I would have a younger brother and sister. Edward would have been the youngest in the family. He would have had an older brother and sister. Our lives would have been totally different. We would probably be two totally different people if we were in those families. The funny thing is I like the name Katrina and I've always wanted a little sister or brother. So I would have fit right in with the Daniels. I found out this story only a couple of months ago. When I found out I was amazed. It was so cool that I could have been Mrs. Daniel's daughter. Every time I pass her I think, 'She could have been my mother. I could have been her daughter.' It was a total surprise.

Does your name have a meaning or story behind it? My name Emily has a story behind it. The story behind it is that my parents wanted my name to sound the same in Japanese and in English and also they wanted it to have a good meaning. They wanted that because I am half Japanese and half American. They already had a name chosen for me if I turned out to be a boy: Logan. My parents chose that name because it was my great-grandfather's name. If I was a boy I would have liked the name Logan, it would have been special to me. But since I was a girl, they had to think a lot before picking out my name. They thought and thought and finally came up with the name. It was Emily. My parents were happy because my name almost sounds the same in Japanese and English. My name means 'Hometown of beautiful grace.' The kanji, the way you write it in Japanese, is 恵美里.

I like my name. Mostly I like the meaning of my name but then again I sometimes want a different name. For example Chelsie, Katrina or Nicole (my middle name.) My name is also good because I can have nickname. I don't always have to be Emily, I could be Emi, Em/M or sometimes Emion.

The advantages of my name are that the meaning of my name is nice and also the story behind my name is special. I like how they put thought into my name. The disadvantages would be in America and sometimes here in Japan there are other Emily's. So whenever I hear Emily I think they are talking to me, but it is actually a different person. Although when I find out it's not me, I think that their name might have a different story, and it would be fun to listen to it.

When I have children, if it was a girl, I would name her Chelsie because it is the name I wanted and also it sounds very nice. But if I had a boy I would probably name him Christian. I like the name Christian because it is a good name and also it would remind me of how my parents tried to get met to become a Christian. Or maybe I would name him Logan. The name would be Logan because my parents were going to give me that name and also it was my great-grandfather's name. He would have a special name.

But I am glad that I was born into my own family. I have loving parents and a wonderful sister and brother. They are all I could ever ask for. I love them all and I am grateful for the name they gave me. I love my name and this is a story I will carry with me forever.

*names have been changed for their privacy.

The author's comments:
This story is about my name, so it includes some personal information.

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