Reclaiming My Name

This will be a shorter post, but a serious one. As you may have noticed on my blog, I am trying to change my life around and be more in tune with who I really am.

For a long time, I felt like I was hiding. On Instagram I called myself Andy Nope. On Facebook I went by Andy No. At one point I even wrote that I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, but that was just for poetic reasons, another way to throw people off. Looking back, I think I was running, hiding, maybe even ashamed.

But then I asked myself: what am I actually running from? From people judging me? If so, then so what. The people who love me will care about who I am, not about what name I use.

So I decided to say, “fuck it.” I am done hiding and pretending to be someone I am not. I reclaimed my name. On Facebook and Instagram, you can now find me by my real name. No secret identity. No hidden version.

It feels like a small step, but it is part of my personal growth. I am tired of hiding. This is me. Sometimes growth is as simple as finally showing up as yourself.