Alesha Lufay Thomas

2/1/07

My name

Alesha, now I love my name. My original name was going to be Ashley, Asia, Angelica or Ariel. My dad wanted all his children to have a name beginning with “A”. My brothers were named Alvin and Aaron, and my sisters were named Andrea and Angela. My name was picked because the doctors said ok we need a name now-and out came Alesha. Why is it spelled that way? Because my dad thought that it should be spelled that way, because that’s the way it sounds. My middle name Lufay is my aunt’s name. My mother wanted to honor her so she decided that the best way to do that was by naming me after her. I used to be embarrassed of the name Lufay, because it was so different, but I embrace my differences. Two years ago I had the option of legally changing my name before entering high school. I chose not to. Simply because I felt that by doing so my entire identity would change. Alesha Lufay Thomas would no longer exist. Instead I would probably have chosen the name and be known as Jamie, Jazelle, Clara, Camilla, or even Resse. Sometimes I feel like my name is boring like it should be spicier, or more interesting, and other times I just don’t care- a name is a name what matters is how you define yourself as a person, how you carry yourself.