My Name

    My name Valerie Nicole Barnes doesn’t hold a connection to my heritage or family. When my name was being chosen my mom gave two options Valerie Catrell, my middle name would have been after Kim Catrell, or Nicole Marie, but my dad like Valerie Nicole better. The origins of Valerie comes from Roman times and Nicole comes from Greece. He only background know about Barnes is that we came from Southern part of the United States and owned plantations in the slavery days. I don’t know where they came from or when they cam to the United States. I didn’t know that side of the family because they didn’t approve of interracial relationships. I can tell you more about the Acosta family and the Collazo family which is the heritage of my family I have been exposed to.

    The Collazo and Acosta families come from my grandma on my dad’s side who are full Puerto Rican. The Acosta family is prominent in politics in Puerto Rico. They have a street named after them going to the capital, San Juan. The Collazo family were the local town heroes in their city and were really good at their trade in shoemaking. They also have a street named after them where they owned a shop. Both families were known in Puerto Rico but when they came to the United States they became like everyone else.

    Valerie and its nicknames like Val or Vale have been what my best friends or family have always called me. The nicknames have grown to be comforting because it has always had my closest people to me saying it. When I was younger I never really liked Nicole as a middle name, until someone used to call me Nicole to make me angry. Most of the time I never responded until he would just end up saying Valerie. I ended up liking my name; and to me it just sounds right and no one else I know has my name. The only thing I feared or didn’t like my name at that moment was when I got in trouble with my dad would say Valerie Nicole and I already knew I was in for something. The best feelings when hearing my name was at graduation and getting to walk across the stage and hearing my name at the start of a game and being part of the starting six.

    My name means everything to me. It may not have ties to my heritage or family, but it is the person I am today. Every experience in my life, through laughs and tears, I have always been and always will be Valerie Nicole Barnes. My name is apart of my life and I wouldn’t not change it to be somebody different. I wouldn’t want it to be any other way but, sometimes I wish I knew more about my last name and the background of them. The only reason my name will ever change is when I get married, but other than that I think my name is perfect and describes me well.