Miles Davis is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and once a household name to all Jazz savvy listeners in the 1950’s, 60’s, and early 70’s. On the other hand, my music career started and ended in middle school, where I pitifully attempted to play the trombone. The name “Myles” has a Latin origin which means soldier. My only military experience comes from watching my favorite war movie, Saving Private Ryan. The good thing is that my parents didn’t name me with the anticipation that I would live up to the meaning and background of my name. Nope, it was much simpler than that. They just needed a name that started with an “M”.

My father was raised by a sympathetic mother, a hard working father, and not to mention...13 other siblings. While a family of 14 is virtually unheard of in today’s homes, the craziest thing about his family was that each of its member’s names began with the letter “M”. Including the parents, that’s 16 names that begin with the letter “M”. For my grandparents, remembering their children’s names was like an unending alliteration. They were infamous for saying, “Maria, Mark, Maurine, Murray, Marv, Mac, Melissa, Margaret, Matt, Mike, Mitch, Mary, Marshall, Marty, or whatever your name is.”

So after my mom and dad got over the “unexpected” surprise that they were going to have a baby (I have theorized that I was an accident), there first obstacle was to find a name that would continue the family tradition. My grandparents had taken all of the common “M” names for their sons like Mark, Matt, and Mike. Therefore, my parents had to utilize their creativity. With her hormones out of whack, my mom discovered a new romance between herself and the soothing music of jazz. Through this fascination, my mom fell upon the best name in the world...Myles. The only problem was that my dad had other plans for the name of his future son. That name was Buckshot. Where does someone come up with a name like Buckshot? Well, my dad is an enormous racing fan, and one of his favorite NASCAR drivers was Buckshot Jones. But to my immense fortune, my father compromised with the name Myles in order to carry out the family tradition.

All in all, I strive to further revolutionize the origin of Myles through my distinctive personality and individual achievement. In addition, the ever spanning tradition involved in my name has been a major influence on my personal priority for family. Without the people in your life that always love and support you, a person can lose their sense of morals and values. But when an individual has those important aspects, they can conquer any of life’s daily obstacles.