Almost 17 years ago, I was given a name. 17 years in two months. I was given a name of greatness. A name that came from the Heavens. A name that a god had wore. But with greatness, comes hardships. My hardship is sadly, my name. My name is never my name. Everyone calls me something. My name is like a pink diamond, no one really knows about it and it's rare. It’s rare for me to hear someone actually call me by my name. So, rare that when someone says it I sometimes flinch or forget to respond.

Few people attempt my name, fewer people can spell it. Or at least attempt to spell it. At school I'm called everything but Suryah. Sometimes you’ll hear people call me Rose or Rosa (for my spanish speaking friends) some people call me Ethridge (mainly rotc) and sometimes you’ll hear people’s nickname for me like sushi roll (my friends are funny, they call me this because I'm mixed with Japanese). Even one day, this lady had the nerve to say my name wasn’t Suryah. The NERVE.

I realized with a name like mine, many people are going to rename me. With a name like mine I can also miss out on a lot of job opportunities. Typically employers don’t like hiring someone with a difficult name. So, to employers I am yet another person, who is not Suryah. To employers I’m Rose, to my momma Im Rose-Helen (and only she can call me that) and to recruiters I am Ethridge. But to me, I am Suryah. Even my own kazuko (japanese for family) can’t pronounce my name correctly.

I am the one with many names but, I only claim one name. I'm the one who simply does not have the name her mother bestowed on her. I'm not Rose, nor Ethridge, I'm not Helen nor Rose-Helen (don’t tell my mom that). I am me. I am Suryah. Nothing more and nothing less. I try to correct people, I even try to pronounce it very slowly so people can try to catch on. What’s so hard about Suryah? S-uh-rye it’s really not that difficult really. Put it together and you get Suryah! Congratulations you finally know how to pronounce my name. Whenever people finally pronounce it correctly they get this huge smile on their face like they just won a prize. Well I know Im a prize but, you get what I'm saying. But there are other times where people look at me like I'm speaking my native tongue.

You ever have someone look at you like you were speaking another language? I get that about almost everyday. It’s funny sometimes but, other times it’s not because people get frustrated. How can you get frustrated? I'm the one who should be frustrated, it’s such a simple name. Come on people. My name is Suryah, a name that represents the Sun a name that holds power and love also, radiance. Im so harsh on my name because it holds so much power and whenever someone doesn’t even attempt to say it, they make my name seem less than what it is. My name is Suryah. The name of a Hindu god (it’s actually spelled Surya but same thing because the h in my name is silent) . The name of the Sun. The name of beauty and radiance. It’s me the one and only Suryah.