In the English language, my name means from the place of Laurel trees. I’m not sure what that means, but then again I think that describes me perfectly. I’m never too sure about a lot of things. But when looking at the meaning of Lauren through the language of my family, Greek, it means something much different. Lauren means honor and victory. I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason I think i’m more like my English meaning is because i’m stuck in Wisconsin! A lot of my family lives in the most interesting places like Greece, and it’s filled with inspiration. Once I get out there, it’ll be my name’s victory.

How I got my name perfectly highlights my mother’s personality. But my name isn’t hers, it’s mine, and I live with it for the rest of my life. My mom heard another woman at Disney World scream “Lauren Elizabeth, get over here right now!” Because we’re talking about my name, we won’t get too much into Linda, my mom’s story. The story of HOW I got my name is a quick two minute story, but the story of WHAT my name is a longer story.

Besides the point, looking at my English name, it’s not too interesting to me. Lauren is like a day in october: It’s about a month into school and everyone is used to it and settled into it. You know more about it, but then again, I feel like a lot of names are like that. But that also makes it more like the name Lauren: it’s well known. Lauren is also like a deck of cards: There’s countless combinations when shuffling the deck, and there are countless Lauren’s that are different. When I hear Lauren, I think of the color blue. When you ask anyone what their favorite color is, most say blue! Seriously, ask some people. Blue is a standard color. But finally, Lauren is like a woman screaming at Disney World for her kid to come back: when people hear it, they like the sound of it.

The good thing about my full name is my last name: Quast. When you actually separate your first and last name (something that is almost usually put together), they’re two completely different things. When you think about it, there aren't too many Q last names. And that brings a smile to my face when I think about it; it’s something unique. Though I can’t change my first name from what everyone calls me, it’s nice to hear my unique last name being called. Some people like to just blend in and not stand out, and others like to be the center of attention. I don’t strive for either. My name is mine, and I have to be around it all the time, you can’t just run away from it. I want a name I like!

In my head I can think of about 15 different Lauren’s right now. We all don’t share the same last name, and that’s the problem. We all are called the same when someone talks to us even though we all have different responses. Though I never hated my name or any other Lauren’s name, i’ve always wanted a unique name to fit my personality. I’m sure everyone will always have another name they want, but we can’t all have that. The bright side is, you can always ask people to call you something different!