Self Love

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose.  By any other name would smell as sweet.

Hey, hey, hayyy! I am super excited and nervous because this is my first official post, which is L  O  N  G   O  V  E  R  D  U  E. I’ve had this blog for a year now, so you see what I mean when I say its long overdue.

My name is La’Beaula, but you can call me “Beaula” for short. Outside of my family, most people call me Beaula because its easier to pronounce.  Growing up as a kid, I had mixed feelings about my name. I mean I liked it, but at the same time, I thought it was old-fashioned. Mainly because the only times you heard it was when it’s associated with a church (i.e., Beulah Baptist Church or Beulah Land) or someone’s grandmother. I hated when the first day of school would roll around each year.  Not because I hated school, but that I knew for the first couple of weeks, I would have to assist the teachers with spelling or pronouncing my name.

I recall a time on a family vacation to Disney World and being angry with my name. I must have been about ten years old at the time. One particular day we went to several gift shops for souvenirs and not once did I find anything remotely close to my name. My cousins, Tiffany, Darlene, and Mike, on the other hand, had plenty of options to choose from.  So over it, I decided that I was going to change my name and went over to a display with hundreds of personalized trinkets picking out the best name for me, Raquel. From that point on my name was no longer Beaula, but Raquel. I forgot to mention that I already had a discussion with my mom about changing my name which she told me I could change it when I turned 18.

These days I have grown to love my birth name. Thank God for growth and maturity! You see, I was named after my grandmother whose name was Beulah, and even though my name is spelled  slightly different, it is special to me because it’s the only thing that I know of her.

Beaula, Beula, Beulah:( BYOO*LA) –  Beulah means to marry or be married; claim as wife.