A name is never just a name. It is lineage, it is legacy, it is prayer. For me, taking someone else’s last name has never felt like the path to belonging, because I already belong to myself. My name is not up for negotiation.

Lately, I’ve been exploring the caverns of my psyche, unintentionally in the conscious sense, but undeniably led by the undercurrent of my soul. There were questions lodged in my spirit that no spreadsheet, no sermon, no well-meaning friend could resolve.