CNF Online Journal 1: “My Name.”

Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo
2 min readMar 16, 2021

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I have always had a positive association with the name I was given. Other than the fact that it was insufferably long and difficult to write as a five-year-old, the six syllables rolled off well enough on the tongue and I learned to like the sound of it. The words “consecrated to God” written in blue ink next to the name “Elizabeth” on my baby book were the only words I ever related to the name passed down to me by my mom. Given the meaning behind it, I have always seen it as a sacred part of me that was gifted, instead of a mere hand-me-down due to lack of idea. I cherished it, and learned to love it in the long run.

As the second and youngest daughter of the family, everyone wanted me to share the same C.E. initials as my older sister. My brothers were football fans at that time, and they pushed the idea of the name “Chelsea” after the place in London where their favorite team originated. Admittedly, I never really loved my first name as much as I did my second; I found the name too generic, too feminine, and it didn’t really fit nor define the character that I had built for myself. This feeling only intensified when I found out that had I been born a boy, I would have been called “Yuri” after John Lloyd Cruz’ character on the 2003 TV Show ‘Kay Tagal Kitang Hinintay’. I felt like this name would have defined me more even if I was a girl, and the longer I thought about “Chelsea”, the more I hated it.

It took one night of deep thinking to finally be able to pull me away from the hatred of my own name. I thought about it so much and said it again and again in my head, that it started to sound weird until the familiarity faded away. When I repeated it one more time, my own name sounded foreign. It sounded like a combination of letters and nothing more, and I saw it in a new light. It sounded as feminine as it was, but it rolled on the tongue better; almost the same way as the second part of my name that I loved so much did. I realized how it reflected me a lot more than I realized; the creative, athletic and sunny parts of me that I failed to notice.

It took quite some time, but knowing and appreciating what was bestowed upon me helped me learn more things about myself. I now realize that this personal aspect belonged to me and to me only; It will always define who I am and who I wish to be, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo
Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo

Written by Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo

Unti-unting humahakbang papalayo sa mundong nakasanayan.

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