Teekay…. What does that mean? To people I know it's a friend, a family member or acquaintance. To people I don’t know, it's a jumbled up mess that cuts through the air in two unique and distinct syllables.

Teekay would be turquoise, teal, or sky blue. Teekay is as freeing as the sky. endless. Gigantic, but relatively small. Complex, but oh so simple. The name makes you think thoughts about the stars, everything unknown, and just how small you are.

Teekay is random, but well thought out in the same breath. Todd and Kelly. Just looking at my parents' names the story unfolds. When you add in Mr.TK (Todd Kowalewski, my dad's initials), it really makes sense. My name—like me—is the combination of two unique individuals.

My friends, when probed enough, would describe my name as wild and foreign. The same way they would describe me. It's one of those names you hear once in a lifetime. I’m the dodo bird in the ocean of Seagulls.

A name as wild as Teekay could only be tied to a place as vast and exotic as a jungle. The freedom the name bestows, makes you want to run through a grass field. Swim in the oceans or explore the wilderness. 

My name has no definitions and no past. Just the freedom of the future.