When you think of Lily, you think of the flower. Purity. Innocence. 

It is bright. It is white. It’s the smell of flowers in a large open field. So much space for opportunity. Room for growth. It’s the fresh, crisp feeling on a sunny spring day. 

My name has no story behind it. My parents picked it simply because they liked it. This actually makes me like my name more. If my parents were to name me after someone or something that has a special meaning, it would make me feel like I need to live up to something. 

Lily is short. Simple. Sweet. It's only four letters. How is such a small word supposed to take on so much meaning? Lily is like finishing a paper and it's not long enough.  Like it should have more to it than flowers and springtime. But it doesn’t. It leaves the door open to endless possibilities. 

I have given plenty of thought to my future. But, like my name, not much comes to mind. Brainstorming with no good ideas. There are the initial ideas that never really develop into anything. Flowers. Spring. Purity and innocence. 

The ideas that first come to mind may apply to me, but they surely aren’t the only way of characterizing me. There is so much openness and uncertainty to my name. Not everything has to have its own special interpretation.

I know a fair amount of Lilys. It's a fairly common name. But the Lilys I know are different than how I think of myself. They are outgoing. Spontaneous. I am more laid back. Organized. They make me think of dark colors. I connect my name to pastel colors. They seem easy-going, free. I am an overthinker, perfectionist. 

Overthinker. Perfectionist. 

How does that connect to an open field of possibilities? Uncertain futures? It doesn’t really make sense. How could your name make you think of uncertainty when all you want to do is figure everything out? 

My name doesn’t define who I am. In some ways, my name makes sense, and in some ways, it doesn’t. Like spring, flowers and the open meadow of possibilities, my name allows for growth. My personality won’t stop changing. I’ll continue to grow. Figure out my future.