The Dan of a Thousand Faces

A week has passed since my 33rd birthday and it seems appropriate for me to reflect on who I have become.

DANIEL- This was the name I was given at birth. I was named after my paternal grandfather who was a music teacher, a church minister and finally a missionary to the Native Americans. He died of cancer in December of 1972 and I was born 10 months afterwards.

DANNY- My mom said that as she was leaving the hospital where I was born, that Daniel seemed like too big of a name for such a little boy. So this is how I got my second name which I kept for many years. Even now members of my family and friends from elementary school call me Danny.

DANIEL- One day I was at my desk at school and was given my name in cursive to copy. Imagine my shock to discover that my name was not what I thought it was! Changing it back to the original seemed natural as I grew older.

DAN- When I got into Junior High/High School, the full name seemed to be burdensome and too long. So I changed to something that seemed easier, accessible (no one mispelled it) and hopefully friendlier. (Flash forward to 2005 when I received my black belt in TaeKwonDo. I was tickled to discover that each level for black belts is known as a "dan!" I am proud to be 1st dan!)

MR. G- When I became a teacher, my family name seemed too hard for children to learn, spell or say, so I changed it to a single letter to make it easier for them.

KOREANDAN-In December 2000, I accepted a job teaching at an international school in Seoul, Korea. This meant a new email address that wasn't tied to my internet provider. So after hearing and rejecting many suggestions, I chose something simple and easy to remember with a hotmail.com domain.

DANIFESTO-As I started to transition to leaving Korea, the handle no longer seemed to fit my new identity. I wasn't ethically Korean nor was I going to be living in Korea anymore. At the same time, I wanted to jump on the blogging bandwagon. I got several suggestions and finally one from recordstoregeek really appealed to me as an appropriate name for my blog and consequently my new email address at gmail.com. Since then I have used it as a handle for other sites and if I ever need a brandname for a fashion line or publishing company, I'll probably use it as well.

SON/BROTHER/COUSIN- Although the relationships themselves have changed and matured, I've always had these identities throughout my life.

BOYFRIEND- I had this identity first in university and then a couple of times afterwards.

PARTNER- I've been moving toward this identity during the four year relationship I've had. Partner is more substantial and suggests permanence. It's also gender-neutral which is helpful in some situations.

SPOUSE- Since we filed to immigrate to Canada in April 2005, we've been known as common-law spouses. However it is our goal to actually have a ceremony in the future that would solidify this identity for our family, friends and ultimately, ourselves.

I hope this "Dan's Life in Review" trip was fun for you! As you go through your weekend, I challenge you to take some time to reflect on the changing roles and identities you've had and will have as you travel this road called LIFE.