What’s in a name? Some would say a sense of identity. I’ve never been good at coming up with usernames. Most of mine were first-initial-last-name, which looks nice and professional, but still feels a little too personal for some applications. After all, I don’t need random people knowing what amounts to my full name when playing games online or posting messages in a forum. Not to mention that as a married woman I’ve changed my name to a much less unique name, making it hard to find a free username based on it more difficult. Part of changing my name has shown me that my identity really isn’t so wrapped up in my legal name as it is in who I am.
I went through a couple of phases of trying to come up with usernames for myself, using different things I like or things I do, but none of them describe immutable characteristics of me. More often they related to current obsessions, like pirates or computers. Not to say that both of those interests haven’t stuck around long enough to be a part of who I am, but neither of them are Brand Worthy. Even Various Characters, which I got quite attached to for its ability to abbreviate into VARCHAR (a SQL km keyword) isn’t really a name for a blog by one non-schizophrenic person, and makes even less sense as a username.
As it stands I plan to keep “Various Characters” around, but more as a collection of sites and coauthors that collaborate on posts, rather than my personal brand. After all, the other bloggers each have their own unique blog names, I deserve one too.
Which brings me to my name. It came as a bit of a revelation the other day when I was talking about my favorite album of all time: Celtic Armadillo. I like to call that my personal soundtrack, due to the number of times I listened to it. “Celtic Armadillo” would make a great username, but not only is it already the name of an album, I’m not Celtic. I started thinking about the armadillo part. Armadillos that I saw growing up were most often of the roadkill variety. But they’re still resilient animals inspire of their nearsightedness, two traits that I share with the creature. Armadillos are also known for their protective outer shells, which they make use of in stressful circumstances by rolling inward on themselves. Another thing I’ve been known to do in the past.
The second part of my new name was given to me over a year ago by my manager at work. One of the behaviors I’ve developed over the past three years working there is one of careful scepticism and the tenacity to pursue complete answers and understanding. It’s easy as someone as fresh out of college as I am to defer to the more senior developers. I will question decisions that I disagree with and will hold my position until I understand or make my own point to the other party. I’ve grown in confidence over the years, but I feel like I have always been a bit of a stubborn “Bulldog”. When I sink my teeth into something, I’m not likely to let it go quietly. I think that is part of what makes me fiercely loyal to my friends and family. The bulldog is a friendly animal, so long as it’s pack isn’t threatened, then it becomes fearless. I can sometimes be a bit too aggressive or overbearing for the situation, but my friends have all come to expect that of me as part of who I am.
I’m really excited about the new brand and name. I feel like it encapsulates non-transient aspects of my personality, and comes as close to my unique identity as I can think of. I can’t wait to see how this revelation impacts the continued development of my character.