EXPOSITORY ESSAY

NAMES AND THEIR IMPACT TO THE SOCIETY How my two names came to be are solely my parents’ property rights, for if I only had spoken just a minute after birth, or if children be allowed to choose names by themselves, then I would have chosen a strange name like no other. It is because there are impacts of names to society which seem to be irreversible and critical. According to my father, “Errol” was derived from Errol Flynn, an Australian-born American Actor during the 1930’s, who was known for his handsome, romantic swashbuckling roles in Hollywood films like Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and The Sea Hawk (1940) and for playing American Heroes such as Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in They Died with Their Boots On (1942). He was also known for his playboy lifestyle which ruined his career. The second name “Wynstan” was my father’s discretion. He read Barbara Cartland’s “No Time For Love,” where Wynstan played the good-looking and well-mannered guy who took courage to find and woo Larina Milton, the girlfriend of his elder brother who died of cancer. My first names are a destined identity. I shall carry that name in all transactions, wherever I go, whatever I do, for better such as Doctor Errol, Professor Errol, Attorney Errol or for worst, WANTED: ERROL with one million cash above my head for being a serial killer, or even in my epitaph in the graveyard. What I became from birth to death has something to do with my name. Our forefathers used to name our grandparents by their inherent characteristics like Malakas and Maganda or in any local dialect to describe a desirable characteristic. Where is Vilma? Or where is Shamcey? exactly revealing our age. I cannot personally tell whether I am living through Errol or Wynstan’s qualities, but what I know is that I am shaping my unique personality away from the two personalities. I cannot exactly tell if my name sounds similar to Winston, a brand of cigarette; nonetheless, I am not smoking. That makes names funny sometimes. In some cases, names are used for both genders. For instance, Alex has been used by both sexes. So if two people share the same first name and do not have a second one which gives clue to his sex, then it is hard to just say he is a male or female by simply looking at it. It requires you to look for that person or search for his birth certificate to know if your assumption is right or wrong. Inevitably, I came up with the idea that we cannot just simply change our already registered name the way we like it to be. It is irreversible. What may turn out when we grow old is totally different from our expectations. Same with one whose name is Junior may turn out to be gay or homosexual, too awkward for an expectant military father, malakas to weak and malingering, or maganda to grumpy. The significance of having names for all things and people cannot just be ignored or taken for granted. At one hand, each denotative meaning indicates a specific symbol to mean something positive such as Joy, Charity, Justice, Faith, Love and Hope. However, people become aware that the connotative meaning suggests an addition to the explicit meaning associated with negative sense because people live in opposites. For instance, sad joy, hopeless hope, unfaithful faith, injustice, fake love to name a few. When it is time that we all have names, I cannot discount the belief that there are people whose names appear to be their luck or success so they shine better than the others in terms of academic achievement, skills, personality, etc. such as the daughter of Miss Universe, Son of the President, and all that equate human nature. Names matter most in the National Statistics Office, Schools, Politics, and in all fields of endeavour. Likewise, names give thrill to those who look for their names in the list of passers, topnotchers, positions, promotions and maybe in the limelight. My name is my living soul. My name is reflected by the image indelibly marked in other’s eyes and mind. People picture me by my image but most remember me by my name. The urgency to keep my image clean is clear. What I do with myself is the defining parameter to sacred life enshrined with many prohibitions and responsibilities. And only through very high regards to the intervention of the Almighty Father could help me endure the difficult task of keeping my name pure and unblemished. I must agree on the primacy of conscience.