My given name, Bojana (Boy' ah na), is from the Slavic root "boj," meaning battle. In modern Serbian, "boja" is the word for color. The name can mean painted, colored, or historically, warrior. My peers call me Ana, meaning grace or favor.
Names implicitly do not shape us, but they can influence how others see us and in turn who we become. Even when meaning is unknown, the music of a name follows us, like a mood, a few notes. Humming.
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Photo by Erin Hüber