What’s in a name? Not much, I guess. But then again maybe quite a bit.
As of 11:35 this morning (EST) my legal name changed from John David Nemecek to Julie Marie Nemecek. Nothing fantastic as names go. Joanne and I did celebrate though. We went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant (“Welcome ladies”, the hostess said) and we invited the reporter who broke our story to join us. (He had shown up for the 5-minute hearing). We talked about his farming, our media attention, and what we would be doing next. I told him I had been invited to become part of the Women’s Caucus for the Jackson County Democratic Party! I responded to his question about our plans for the rest of the day by saying that we would be going to the Secretary of State office to change my driver’s license name and picture as soon as lunch was over.
One motivation for my name change was to bring some congruency to my life in those moments when I need to present ID or a debit or credit card or a passport. It can be more than problematic when the name doesn’t match the presentation.
“Julie” was chosen because that is what we would have called any girl we would have had, its derivation is similar to “John”, and because it is the name of one of my favorite – very beautiful – cousins. “Marie” was added because I like how it sounds with “Julie”, it has good religious connotations, and it was the name of the first playmate I can remember. Some transsexuals change their last name to bury their past. I kept “Nemecek” because it is meaningful to me. I am not ashamed of my past and value the heritage connected with my name. I treasure my family connections and am proud to be a “Nemecek”. Besides, with my picture plastered all over the media, I can’t hide anyways! Silly reasons, maybe, but all meaningful to me.
So maybe it’s not the name that is important but what is meaningful behind the name. Being called “Julie” is one of the most beautiful sounds on the planet to me. It affirms me for who I am and how I see myself. Not that big of a deal for most people, but for people like me it gives hope and meaning to a life where who you are was once formerly denied. Hearing my chosen name is about personhood, living, and joy. God knows us by name and I hear him calling, “Julie.”
Maybe Shakespeare was right about a rose by any other name still smelling the same but I think the rose would still prefer “Rose” to “weed”. So maybe “Julie” is not that big of a deal to others, but it is a sweet sound to the one called
Julie
P.S.
Joanne says she never saw me smile as much as I did for my new driver's license photo. :)
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7 comments:
Congratulations, Julie! This is certainly a long time coming...it must feel wonderful.
Thanks. 24 hours later and I still can't stop smiling!
Here's the link to the CitPat story about my name change:
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-20/117231514837680.xml?jacitpat?NEJ&coll=3
Congrats! I think your new name is very pretty.
Thanks. I like the sound of it too! One of the interesting events surrounding the name change happened when I was leaving the Secretary of State's office. I had just had my new driver's license picture taken (as Julie!) when a burly guy with a shaved head and leather jacket says, "Hey." I hesitantly turned to look not knowing what to expect. He smiled and said, "Don't let those holy rollers give you any crap."
That's awesome. I love when people exceed my expectations of them.
I kept a little journal for a while. I used it as sort of a scrapbook as well, and filled it with receipts and letters. I was flipping through it the other day and I stopped at the letter I received from the department of vital statistics confirming that my name had been officially changed. On that letter I had written, "This is the greatest thing I have ever done!"
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