Trying to make my own name. A last name can be so defining in a persons life, but in what way does it define you. In what way should it define you? Should you be proud of your last name or should you fear what people think about your last name? Should you stay in the shadow of your last name or should you try to escape it? The question is if your last name is defining or restricting. What I mean by restricting is that people judge me prematurely just because of my last name or who my relatives are. It’s not right to judge a person on their last name or to judge a person at all before meeting them. I feel that it’s hard to escape the clutches of your last name, but not impossible. There might be people that take away opportunities form you based on your last name, but when you get the opportunity to prove them wrong then you better do it because that’s how you make your last name go from restricting to defining. Defining has a positive side and a negative side, but it matters what you do with those opportunities to pick which side you want your last name to define. 

Stigma. Stigma means to have a preconceived notion or opinion on something without even knowing what or who it is. Stigma basically goes back to the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case don’t judge a person or thing by just the name. Never go into something and make assumptions without knowing the full story. I know we’ve all done it in school when we were going to have a new teacher and you tried to figure out who they were so you ask all these people and everybody told you that the teacher is terrible or amazing, but you will never know until you actually meet them. While you might have had a bad experience with a teacher, coach, even the whole school, it doesn’t mean that the next person will. Everybody is different, so don’t go in with assumptions, go in with an open mind because stigmas can ruin your whole mindset of something or someone. You’ll never get past that stigma unless you actually try to open up your mind. 

Having the last name Jenkins does not define who I am. When I was born Connor Bradford Jenkins. I was not just named Jenkins. If I really think about it that’s how some people look at me. They view me as a Jenkins more than they view me as a person. What I mean is that sometimes my identity is hidden behind the fact that my last name is Jenkins. People think they know me by just knowing one of my family members, but that is truly wrong. I am my own person -I am Connor. At fifteen, it is extremely hard to make a name for yourself, but its especially hard when people have stigmas about me because of my last name. No matter what people think or say I am proud to be a Jenkins and proud to be a part of the Jenkins family. I am Connor Bradford Jenkins and that is just a part of who I am.