Dominic G. Gambatese, a name that I have lived with for 16 years, but only thoroughly thought about minutes ago. It’s strange, this is the most I have ever thought about my name in my entire life, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder about it. Initially I only thought about how I personally thought about my name, how I perceived it, this name with Roman origin, but Italian style. I thought about how my name doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue very fluidly, yet the smooth shape it has, but then I thought about how it reflects and relates to my personality. How I have shaped my name and how others perceive it. 

When we first meet someone and they tell us their name, we instantly relate that name to someone we know with that same name and instinctually relate that person and their personality to the person we just met. I hope that if someone I know ever meets someone else with the same name, they think of me, but not in a bad way.

As I was thinking about how people may see my name and the connections they would make, I thought about what my name meant, not a definition but the impact I have had on others peoples lives. But the thing is, everybody sees a different version of us, our mother’s will see us as their child, our sibling’s will see you as their brother or sister,  friends will see us as a friend. To anyone, my name could mean anything or even nothing, it all depends on how they see me or how much of an impact I have had on their lives personally. To our parents, we mean the entire world to them, but to someone you just met, they may think of you as someone who is just another person who happens to be in the same place as you at the same time. I like to think that I have made only positive impacts on others lives, but that is naive because there are so many people with many different opinions that it is almost impossible.

As I was given more time to think about it, the less I cared, my name may be unique but it doesn't matter what it means, at least to me, because I think what matters is what it represents. Whether that be who I am, or what I accomplish.