What's In A Name? - Convent Nicknames

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet?"

- Juliet Capulet, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

     If you've been following my blog, you know at least one thing about me: I LOVE LITERATURE! And I love applying it to my daily life. So, "What's in a name, that which we call Becca by any other name, she'd still be as sweet?" Yep.

     Last night I was talking to one of my best friends about Shakespeare and Nuns. I completely out-nerded myself with the Shakespeare part.You see, her school is putting on The Tempest and right away I started quoting Shakespeare just to drive her crazy. Sorry, I really can't help myself when it comes to him; he's just so wonderful. Eventually I quoted the above quotation from Romeo and Juliet (one of my absolute FAVORITE lines of literature ever) and realized how applicable it has become in my life recently. Of course, I began to tell her about all the names the sisters have for me and then proclaiming that I hope I'm as cute as they are when I grow up and become a nun. I believe the actual wording was: "I hope I'm as preshfest as they are when I grow up and become a nun."

     So, what are my nicknames you ask? Well, there's quite a few of them. In alphabetical order, they are: AE, Baby G, Becca Boo, Little Sis, Sister, Smiles and Sunflower among many more. AE - Alter Ego. Ironically, I share so many personality traits with one of my closest sisters that we have become interchangeable at times. We tend to be able to finish each other's creative thoughts and most definitely thrive off each other's creativity. When you put us together, it's a true tag team. So, she is my alter ego and thus, I am hers. 

     Baby G, which is kind of one I made up for myself as a joke but has kind of stuck. I have many "mom" figures among the sisters. They are always looking out for me, making sure I'm doing ok, being main means of support, and thus, jokingly they call me the baby, the child or Baby G. It works. 

     Becca Boo, which is a name surfaced from my past, has begun to stick again! And I can't complain! It sort of just rolls off the tongue as a cute little name. Try it: Becca Boo! Sometimes, it's shortened to just boo. Dear God, I actually hope that sister doesn't call me Sister Boo someday...the poor kids might get scared! But anyway, Becca Boo, or just Boo, it's a name only one specific sister calls me and it's pretty precious. She shares her ice cream with me!

     Little Sis and Sister. This is a name that has been adopted by so many sisters. I've discerned for so long that in some convents, it's like I'm more or less already part of the family minus the habit and years of experience. Whenever I'm with these sisters and we are meeting new people or they casually just want to boast about me, they refer to me as their little sister, their sister or their sister to be. Sometimes when we are just hanging around, they'll just call me Sis like this: "Hey Little Sis, want to go for a walk?" I'm definitely part of their family!

      Smiles. This one is a new one, but it makes sense. The other day I was skyping with one of the sisters to make lunch plans. Simply being able to talk with her made me so happy, but her and I share a special bond. Way back when I first started discerning, at my first high school discernment retreat, she and I were paired up to be one on ones for the week meaning that every day, after Mass, we would get to spend an hour together just chatting away. What the sisters who paired us up realized after they did so was that they put the Sisters' best extrovert and the retreat's best extrovert together and there would be no such thing as an hour limitation. She makes me laugh, makes me smile, and almost always knows when I need a lunch date. As we were chatting, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing so she decided she was going to call me Smiles. I kind of like it!

      Finally, Sunflower. Did you know, "Whenever you see a sunflower, you are sure to smile!"? It's true. That's why my dear sister began calling me her sunflower! Because every time she sees me, she is sure to smile. Although we've only known each other a little over a year, she is my sunflower and onion sister! She calls me Sunflower for the self-explanatory reasons: I am the cause of her joy and smiles!

    And so, friends, there you have it: no matter what nickname the sisters call me, each providing a light on my personality, I'm still Becca. Dear, old, same, old Becca!! I'm still me! And I still hope that I'm as precious as they all are when I'm a grow up nun!