A Rose By Any Other Name Would “Bee” As Sweet

I am not doing it. Uh Uh. Nope not going to happen. It just would not be right. *sniffle* Mrs. Bee may have dived into it and said it will be alright but no, my foot is firm. *blows nose*

Over ten years ago I legally changed my lovely Vietnamese birth name to an American equally “lovely” name. I was tired of the taunts, the made up songs, the mispronunciations, and the endless jokes. I even recall that once in middle school, an asian teacher told the class, “If you have an ethnic name you really should change it to an American one so that it would be easier for everyone to call you.” As I sat there I thought this lady is whack and she is not going to make moi change anything! Then I changed high schools and it was just too convenient and tempting to “start a new leaf” and lose the name that had given me so much torture. I never looked back but I have THOUGHT back and forth what I have done and now that I am getting ready to get married I just can’t do it. I just can’t tag on my FI's last name. There I said it! I willingly gave up my birth name, a name that my late dear grandfather gave to me which means “essence of beauty” to legally adopt my American name which also means beautiful in Spanish (no I am not vain at all, really!). If I take his last name I will have “NO IDENTITY.” Gasp!!! What does FI think about this? He says he prefers that I take his last name but he understands this identity crisis. I love him. I love his name. I love that American women take their maiden names as middle names and adopt new last names. I cry a little inside when I see all my gfs names change once they are married but I am really torn about this decision. My maiden name would be hidden between two names if I take the plunge into marriage name changing land! *sniffle* My FI still thinks I am just as sweet and I think that is what I will hold onto...

So ladies, if you are keeping your names please share your experiences with us!