Marisa

When I was younger I didn’t appreciate my name. Why Marisa? Why spell it that way with one ‘s’ instead of the usual two? Why torture me? My name in Hebrew means bitter, but I am not bitter. I am everything but. Well, I wouldn’t go that far, I do tend to get a little frustrated at times. At school I am a sweet person. My motto is always ‘kill them with kindness.’ So why must I be stuck with a name that means bitter?

 

In Latin, my name means ‘of the sea.’ That doesn’t really make sense. What is of the sea?  Does it mean from the sea? I am not fish or part sand, so why must I be ‘of the sea?’ Am I chicken?  I like the beach. Beach sounds better than sea. When I think of sea, it reminds me of dark, cold, murky water. However, beach reminds me of sand, vacation, something nice. Even if my name did revert to that meaning, it wouldn’t be true - I am not Latin, or a fan of the sea.

 

My name in English sadly, has no significance whatsoever, however I got my Hebrew name from my great grandmother. My Hebrew name is Tovah. It means good.  Just good, not great.

 

I can choose from either bitter or good, nothing else. Why must I be stuck with such bad options? Oh that’s right, I had no choice. Not only am I stuck with such horrible name meanings, I am stuck with the spelling too.

 

 

For sixteen years I have had to go through teachers spelling my name wrong. Even when I tell them one day, then forget the next, so why bother? It’s like it’s such a difficult task to notice my name on tests. One ‘s’ and one ‘r’ – easy!

 

When I was little, I always used to go to amusement parks. Everywhere I looked, I would see name key chains and get so angry when nametags had to be specially made for me. That’s it! I am special!

 

As I got older, I began to appreciate my name more and more. What is so bad about people making things especially for me? Me- a normal person trying to live life, but with a few ‘special’ obstacles.

 

Most people say my name is different. It may be easier to spell it wrong than right, but in the end my name makes me happy. I have a beautiful name that is unique, just like me. It is not bitter. It is very sweet after all.