In German and English my name means Father’s Joy. It means calmness. It means zig zags. It is like the number 8. A blood orange color, like the sunset. Two different names but yet one name. It is like brightness during the day, when everything is up and active, and calmness with the night, when most are asleep.

It is my mom's name, Gayle, while still being my own name. We are both similar but yet very different at the same time. Both of us bring light and joy into our families. My mom can be a very funny person. Making us laugh everyday, even when she is not trying to be funny. I am the one who loves family time and is always getting us to do something new, fun, and different together. 

I don’t care whether I am called Abigayle or Abby, however I usually go by Abby. I find the name Abby shorter and easier to use. However when there happens to be another Abby that I am with I will go by my full name, Abigayle, so we know who people are talking to.

People often say they think my name is pretty. They like that my name is different. Like birds of paradise, but still just as pretty as a normal name. I think of my name as a zig zag. It starts out going straight with Abi- but then zags into a different direction with -gayle. And how it is spelled, adds another turn to my name. It's like looking at a staircase from the side, starting out going straight then drops when we reach gayle and again, drops, with hows it is spelled.

I used to hate how my name was spelled. I never wanted to be called Abigayle, I wanted to be called Abigail, even though they sound the same. I always wanted to fit it. I never wanted to be different and to me that meant having my name spelled the same as others. Now that I am older I love that my name is different from others. I now want to stand out and be different from others. 

There are so many beautiful names in this world that I would love to have, like Nicole or Emily, but I don’t think I would change my name. I like that my name is who I am and I would never change that.