Hi Briget! Yeah, I understand the reasons behind those names at first. I guess I don't understand not changing it. But, again, these are just my musings. I'm not saying that any one way is right or wrong. Well, I have to correct that. I do think it is hard to believe that someone is working on being a stronger person when you are addressing your letter to: Dear hopeless and worthless or whatever. But, of course, we all came here "broken." I think that the hassle of changing the name would be worth it...
Briget! You shouldn't have to work feeding the public all day and then come home to be the neighborhood restaurant too! I know, I know...I do the same thing too! My grocery bill is horrendous.
But, I have to agree. Even if you name yourself what you hope to be one day, you're beginning on a positive path. Sure, we all feel a little hopeless and worthless from time to time, but let's not base our persona around it.
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."
--Agnes Repplier, writer and historian
Well, I didn't feel comfortable using my first name - it felt too exposed at the time. I chose Heart2Heart because that's how I saw & see us - connected at the heart, despite the current sitch. Perhaps I'm just a silly romantic.
I also didn't like some of the sad names - well, they made me sad and I didn't feel like that.
I sorta see this discussion on how we chose our names, as part of a broader discussion of what we feel inside and how we project that to the outside world.
Names........well, I've known a few that have changed them for some reason or another on the board-Cabanaboy and Roadrunner--to name a few....
When I signed on I thought about a name that would emmanate (sp?) where I would hope to be w/DBing. So, that's how I picked mine....I would "Love 2 Win" this war and move onto my future w/WAS. or to look at it from a new perspective...I would "love 2 win" my future w/a new outlook---and I'm getting one!!!!!
I think we can all guess why Betsey chose her name Underdog...... Tootles..........
Wow, Pam, how is it you come up with the food for thought topics? I'm supposed to be paying bills and doing inventory, but here I am again...
I have to think back more than a year and remember what it was I was thinking when I finally registered here on the BB. I remember being really afraid that Mr. Wonderful would find out I was airing our dirty laundry for all to see, so I opted NOT to use my given name. Heck, it wasn't until the holidays that I actually started signing it here.
What's in a name? For me a couple things. A funny cartoon character who could head into a phone booth and become someone with super powers. And I have a thing for Wally Cox... And the more generally known description of an underdog.
I knew from my own family (with the exception of my sister, who is reforming her ways thanks to her H), I grew up in a group of people who are sports nuts. We watch anything and everything. And when the teams we actively support aren't playing, we cheer for the underdog.
At the beginning of this journey, I felt like an underdog. I felt like there was going to have to be a Hail Mary opportunity for me to pull off a win in my state. And I knew that if I was as hungry as an underdog, I had a fighting chance.
Which is probably why I didn't register as Polly Purebred, Shoe Shine Boy or Simon Bar Sinister.
I think some people aren't even looking for originality when they register. They think of a word and go with it. After all, sometimes it's hard to come up with something on the fly.
I'm not sure what I'd do if I had to start over. Maybe I'd take Meredith2 or PamelaCWannabe?
What I DO know is that I would never choose a negative description... Loserinlove or Hopeless or Desperate or Dejected. I might have thought all of those things at any given time, but they were not how I saw myself.
My BIL and I had a really long convo at the park last night. We had taken D7, who was wearing shorts, a winter jacket and snow boots... We discussed negative self images and perceptions. We started on it when I told him how worried I am about my sister and her methods for managing stress.
We ended up going into detail about how she sees herself. We both know the word "overachiever" is next to her picture in the Big Dictionary in the sky, but it really defines all sorts of things for her--and most (if not all) are carryovers from childhood.
I was continuing a conversation that originally began with Myrrh a few days ago: how others who have known us for a really long time label us and they continually keep recasting us for those roles in a drama we have not auditioned for.
This is a battle I didn't know I had been fighting until it came up in C 2 years ago. Imagine my surprise when I finally felt the divine bonk that I don't have to audition for the role anymore!
My .02 for this subject.
Just sign me "Winning the War"!
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Now are you sure that you didn't give Shoe Shine Boy a fighting chance as your name? Because that is the most original and hilarious thing that I have heard yet!
I realized that I didn't go into why I posted my first name on the board. I was a DB skeptic when I borrowed the book from my best friend. She was a DB poster child. The one thing that she refused to do was join this site. The reason? She was horribly embarassed to be where she was. To prove to her that I was not embarassed, I boldly slapped 'Meredith' in the screen name box. She almost fainted. I stand by it. This is who I am. This is what I am. There are certainly other things that would describe me (I'm now considering Shoe Shine Boy) but I never changed it because I had enough trouble with H and S and D4 and all that jazz...I figured tossing my own name out would give me one less thing to keep track of!
And like most, I signed on at the beginning of my DB journey, not knowing WHAT I felt. But, I'll always feel Meredith! So, it goes.
End of my two cents!
But first, may I say, I adore D7's sense of style. I wish my D4 shared it!
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."
--Agnes Repplier, writer and historian
Hey Pam - This is easy - I used to have NO patience, and knew after reading DR that this will be a long process, so the display name was meant to be a constant reminder. It has worked, to a point. I have slowed down, and not just with NG. Life is much better at this pace
But old habits being what they are, Betsey, just when is Mr W gonna put us all out of our misery and articulate the decision we know he has made? It is the one thing I look for when I log on. I know, sad. I should get a life of my own, not stay in limbo
I chose sadburl because at the time that's what I was. I was Sad and Burl is my surname. I guess I was a little shy at the start, didn't want to use my first name but after a while started to sign my name. So people who correspond with me know me as Joanne.
Should I change it. Maybe. I guess I could. Something to think about I suppose. But I don't think too much emphasise should be put on this on ething surely it is more important that we grow within our threads and help others no matter what our name is.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". - Romeo and Juliet
Always questioning???
Not always sad!!!
Joanne
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning. Albert Einstein
I chose mine because being a mom is the best, most fabulous, most important thing I've done in my life. Even though I worked my a** off to get a master's degree, I could always get fired or quite. Even though I'm married, I could end up divorced. But I'll always be a mom!
Betsey 
