Say My Name, Say My Name


by Adam Smetana

We don't analyze people based on their name as much as we should. Usually

when I hear about someone I don’t know, I imagine what they look like by their name.

Such classic names as Chad, Billy, and Randy remind me not only of typical names in

an 80's John Hughes movie but also of what would seem to be one section of your

local high school's varsity football team. I didn't choose my own name: I was born with

it. However, it does fit me nonetheless. To me it seems difficult to choose a name for a

person without even knowing what their personality will be when

they're born. Some parents come up with a name the moment they hold their child, not

really knowing that the name might define who they are in another 20 years. Take a

critical name mistake like Poindexter, for example. I'm sure we

can all tell where that kid will end up: the same place Amy Winehouse couldn't stand to

go.

Our names define us more than we'd like to admit. In a sense, we are who we

are based on our title, therefore, our name. Remember how Chris Martin and Gwyneth

Paltrow named their child Apple? Well that child will grow up knowing exactly who they

are and what they are. Luckily, I was given a name that not only suits me, but makes

me happy. My name is Adam Smetana and that is who I am. Upon hearing my name

you might think of things that pertain to the name Adam. Some people immediately
think of the first man on Earth, who was obviously an inspiration for my name. It is

widely believed that Adam, the first man, committed a horrible mistake, leading to the

creation of original sin. I, however, believe that mankind was doomed by the notion of

sin the moment our human race began. Please don't blame me, the reigning first man

on Earth, for the world's problems.

Those who enjoy movies may hear my name "Adam" and the "S" in my last

name and think of Adam Sandler. Now when I think of Adam Sandler, the first image

that comes to mind is this actor in Billy Madison dressed like a thirty-year-old child. To

make this point clear, I am not Adam Sandler. I forget we even share the same name

sometimes, but in grade school I had plenty of people that reminded me that we were

alike in that way. I agreed that our name was the only relative thing we had in common,

since my speaking voice isn't that of a twelve-year-old in the

body of an adult.

Now my last name is a bit harder for people to put their finger on because it's

such a unique name that, unless you have a background in music, you might feel

clueless. Most people ask me about the origins of Smetana, that

is, after I explain to them how to properly say it in America. When I finally explain that it

isn't pronounced as "SmEEEEtAHHHHHna" we get to the root of the matter. Is it

Dutch? No, not quite. Is it Polish? You're getting closer. Oh, I got it, is it Irish? No one is

capable of realizing its Czech, but that's something I shouldn't even expect.

 The thing that makes me happy and even more proud of my last name is when

someone notices that there is a famous classical composer named Bedrich Smetana.

Bedrich was my great-great-great grandfather; or at least that's what I like to tell

people. You see, this is an aspect of my last name that I'm not too confident about

even though I wish I was. I don't actually know if I have any relation to Bedrich

Smetana even though I like to pretend I do. It would explain a lot since I am a musical

person who sings and plays three different instruments. I grew up seeing Bedrich's

records around the house sometimes and made the assumption that we might be

connected with him because of our name. Whether we are or are not related, I might

never know. Maybe I don't even want to know because it's more fun to

think that maybe he was a part of the family.

If you analyze a person's name it seems you can find out much more about

them. It also seems that the name gives us insight as to just who they are and why.

There's a reason behind everyone's first name, which is the interesting part when it

comes to telling stories explaining why the name was chosen. I feel badly for the

people who are named after inanimate objects because of their parent's hopes to

break the trend of boring names and do something unique. (Fedora or Burger, anyone?)

The truly fascinating part of a person's identity, however, is their last name: a title

shared

by a whole family, which a person receives at birth. Through the last name we can

trace exactly where we came from and from whom. While it might be painful for some

to enjoy the idea of their last name, it is actually a centerpiece for who we are, even
more so than our first name. Whether it's Smetana, SMEEETTANA, Smitana, Smatana,

or however you pronounce it, I can, with all certainty say that I love my name. It's me

and it's makes my identity. Say my name however you would like.