My Name: Elena Paige Rehberg
My name is unique. I am the only Elena Rehberg in the United States and one of the few in the world as well. My parents wanted my gender to be a surprise when I was born so if I was a boy, my name would've been Evan, and if I was a girl, Elena. My mom always liked the name Elena and my dad liked Paige, but my brother's name is Aaron and they decided that Elena and Aaron sounded better than Paige and Aaron. I'm not sure of my parent's reasoning behind the spelling of my name, but I assume they liked the uniqueness of it, as opposed to other spellings: "Alaina", "Elaina", "Elana", "Alana", "Alayna". Rehberg is also an uncommon last name. In German, which is where my family originated from, "Reh" means deer and "Berg" means mountain, so I guess my name is Elena Paige Deer Mountain. I think my whole name defines me as a person. My first name is fairly common, but also has a different spelling than most, which I think defines me well. I fall into a category of "commonality" when it comes to my family, as I find us to be a pretty typical higher-middle class family, but we also all have some spunk to us that makes us stand out from the rest. My middle name defines me as simplistic. I think Paige is a lot more common than Elena, which defines me in a way that I am, in ways, like everyone else. I'm simply human and have my flaws. My last name is certainly the most diverse, which I think ultimately defines me. I do not fall into a single category of anything in life. For example, I have no set group of friends, and I have no one thing that describes me as a person. I'm a picky eater, but I'll eat anything. I hate driving, but if I'm going out I'd rather drive than be the passenger. I hate tomatoes but love ketchup. I have one of the more basic middle names, but have a varying degree of uniqueness within my first and last name, and essentially,
that is what defines me. I am not ONE thing.
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| Results from "How Many of Me" in the United States |
The Name is Mine
"There are two me's, the me who is the individual and the me who is part of a family of four..." (Quindlen). Anna Quindlen writes this in her essay, "The Name is Mine", to explore what defines her as a person, which is her recognition that she has two major aspects to herself: the individual and the part of a whole. I, myself, fit into two me's as well. On the one hand, I am Elena Paige Rehberg, and the only me I can be. I am an individual with a deep desire to change the world and become a General Pediatrician. I want to inspire others and be inspired everyday. On the other hand, I am the daughter of Henry and Tracy Rehberg, sister of Aaron Rehberg, stepdaughter of Kimberly Rehberg, and stepsister of Hannah and Drew Grantham. In this context, I will be the first generation on both sides of my family to attend medical school. I will be the first doctor in my family and the first direct family member to attend a college outside of the state of Nebraska.
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My dad and stepmom's wedding day.
L to R: Hannah, Drew, Elena (me), Aaron, Kim, Henry.
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When I was six years old, my parents got a divorce. Fast forward five years and my dad was remarrying my beautiful stepmother, Kim. I distinctly remember a feeling of anxiety and anticipation for adding another Rehberg into the family, although it's not like I wasn't used to having her around. This was something that I had foreseen happening throughout my childhood, but I guess I didn't expect it to arrive in less than a decade after my parents' divorce. As an individual, I saw my dad's new marriage as something that would make him happy, so I was happy for him. At the same time, I was upset as I felt this sealed the deal for my fantasy never coming true of my mom and dad getting back together, even though consciously I knew it wasn't an option. As a family, my brother and stepsisters were really excited to be siblings by law, especially me who's always wanted a sister. In this context, I had no struggle with their marriage. It was something that benefitted all six of us, and they loved each other. The difference in my feelings towards my dad's marriage lied in how I perceived the dilemma. If I looked at it selflessly, I was genuinely happy for everyone, but when I looked at it through my own lens with no outside influence, it upset me and my six year old optimism of a happy ending between my parents. There's certainly two me's.
I really enjoyed reading your blog, it touched my heart. I really like how you analyzed your full name, (first, middle, last), it was very insightful and I liked how your connected it to who you are in life. I learned new things about you through reading this blog and your experiences in life, which were very interesting and I'm glad you are able to share that because that is part of your identity and you embrace it. Good job connecting your feeling towards your dad' marriage back to Anna Quindlen's essay and outlining it to the audience. Overall, I really enjoyed your blog, it was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how you examined how your name's meaning changes in different contexts. I have never thought about this before but it makes sense to see that we are perceived differently in different settings. I also understand your point of there being "two me's". I feel that we most definitely must act differently depending on the situation we are in- and this connects back to how you talked about context changing your name's meaning earlier. I also thought that you made a strong connection between the idea of "two me's" and Anna Quindlen's essay.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis on all three names and how it contributes to you as a person. Interesting insight on the different spellings of your first name as well as the meaning of your last name. Your descriptions of how you are both an individual as well as a part of your direct family were clear and thought out. Neat blog post overall.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog and your analysis of the three names. I like how you included the different spellings of your first name and as a German I can tell you that I've never heard your last name but the translation is funny. I liked how you mentioned the different meaning of a name if it is set into another context. This blog post seems to be very personal, and I really appreciate you sharing this with us/me.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post! I feel like I've discovered who you are just from you defining your name. I like that you analyzed each of your names individually and talked about how they are unique. You perfectly talked about how there were two of you that the world sees. You told the readers about what lead to the creation of the second you. You talked about how you were affected with your family changing. Overall it was a great post, great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Elena! I liked the breakdown of your name, and the relation back to German heritage. I think your use of Paige to draw your uniqueness into contrast with how common your middle name is was a great comparison. Also the way you compared it to your personality and how it exemplified your name was a good idea. I think your relation back to Quindlen's essay with your family structure was a smooth transition and definitely helped bring some points of the essay into better focus.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog about your name, my last name is also german! I liked how you talked about how your brothers name and your name fit nicely together and also how your name was spelled. However you're going to be something big in life so I would outline through out the whole "my name is mine" that you will be the first for medical school, etc bolder. Use some repetition or anaphoras to draw the reader in a little closer to see how big that statement is.
ReplyDeleteI really agree that your name is very unique just like you! I thought you did a great job outlining each portion of your name and where it comes from. It seems like you put a lot of work into this and shared some personal things.
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