Anthony Best Personal Essay

"No, I’m not. Who are you to tell me what I’m supposed to be?" That's what my eyebrow said, arching like a frightened cat. I'd heard it many times before but never in a serious way. It was always in a joking manner, a manner that got old after the six-thousandth or seven-thousandth time- I lost count. It was cold in the counselor’s office, a small room on the second floor of my aging school. It was also unbearably quiet. Usually the sound of my kind, and mild mannered counselor hard at work would restore a comfortable volume. Not now though, as it was only my 5th grade teacher and I facing off about the recent drop in my GPA.

I don’t know where or when my last name came from, but it must have stuck considering no one decided to change it. I can understand why though, I mean it’s and awesome name to have! It never gets old to see the

awkward “really?” face people make when I introduce myself. And on rare occasions, when people assume I misspoke meaning “Beast”, “bet” or my favorite,  “Brest”. And the puns… the endless, puns. Always from older people though, rarely from kids my age. I think we realize how lame it is to make fun of someone’s name especially when it’s not even really all that impressive. I wonder if my ancestors faced the same thing.

         I guess I can’t blame them. They’re just trying to get a quick yuck and maybe cheer me up in the process. Not this time though, I could tell in his eyes that this was for real. He actually expected me to somehow be better then everyone else in my class! As if my name somehow had supernatural powers to affect the universe. What a joke! Does a guy named Miller have to love beer or work a textile? What about a black guy named White, or a white guy named Black? Or a depressed person named Feelgood! I wanted to give him a huge chunk of my mind after a long speech about how “I’m better than how I’m performing” and how he “sees great things in me”. But all that managed to stumble from my lips was a humble

“Okay”.

         I suppose an unrecognized sense of title comes with one’s name. Studies show that a name is automatically considered in a persons natural stereotyping. I’m not saying racism is natural, but what I am saying is that you must be aware of how people see you and of first impressions. Don’t allow yourself to be bottled within your own title, but instead force people to see you for what you do instead of what your called.

- Anthony Best