My Name

      This weekend I went to a Dining Out dinner for the Air Force with my boyfriend. On the table we each had a namecard on our spot. Mine read "Amber E. Hoppel". Well, thats pretty close, but my middle name is actually Lee. After dating my boyfriend for about 2 years, I was a little shocked that he got my middle name wrong. In his defense, his sisters and I have very similar names and I guess it might be hard to keep them all straight. I still think he should know my middle name, but here's the story behind all of it.

     My boyfriend Aaron has two sisters, Amber Elizabeth and Amanda Lee. When I was born, my parents were planning on naming me either Amber Lee or Amanda Lee. They had their minds set on Amanda Lee, but when I was born they changed their minds for some reason. If I had been born Amanda Lee, and Aaron and I someday got married, I would have the same exact name as his sister. We've talked about that a bit, and he says he's glad that I wasn't named Amanda because that would be too strange. So I guess with all the Amber and Amanda's in the family, it might be hard to remember whose middle name is Lee and whose is not.

     Anyways, my parents didn't really have a reason for naming me Amber besides the fact that they liked the name. Growing up I would always see my name on beer bottles and cans, and would think, "Oh my gosh, my parents named me after beer!". Also, there's a stone called Amber. It's fosilized tree sap and has an orangeish color. Because my name is Amber, I've collected Amber jewelery for awhile and often wear it. Even though its just my name, I feel a connection with the stone because it seems like a part of me.

     It's interesting how much a name can mean. I always wished I had a girlier name, something that ended in a vowel instead of "er", but there's nothing I can do about that. My name doesn't say anything about who I am as a person, but it's still a huge identifying part of me. I feel a connection with it even though it's just a word.

      I've also noticed alot of families name all their kids with names that begin with the same letter. My boyfriends family is Aaron, Amber, Amanda, and Andrew. My dad's siblings are Marty, Monty, Matt, Mark, and Mike. Even though they are just names, they obviously chose them beginning with the same letter on purpose. Funny how something as simple as a name can have such interesting origins.