Why I Call Myself Ash

“Sometimes the smallest name carries the deepest rebirth.”

I started using the short name Ash for myself back in 5th grade, and it did not mean much then beyond a nickname my classmates could call me, but now that I look back, I realise the name grew on me. What meant nothing, now means everything for me! 

Ash, what a phoenix rises from to be born again, resembles the problems or setbacks I have faced till now, and how I have reborn every time and developed myself without letting my soul die. Only now do I realise who I was becoming all along.

Ashes are not the ending, but the beginning. For a phoenix, Ash means renewal, resilience, and rising again. That's the thing about names: they reveal themselves slowly, the way we reveal ourselves to the world. Some names reflect you, while others grow with you. Ash did both. There were a few moments where I was stuck in a rut or just overwhelmed by the failures I faced, but something in me refused to stay down. It is strange how 10-year-old me chose a name I was meant to grow into.

Today, when someone calls me Ash, or  I write as Ash, it feels like the part of me that has survived and thrived is being acknowledged. It becomes a quiet reminder of my own strength.

And so, I carry my own beginning in my name.

If you have ever felt like you were starting from ashes, remember, beginnings often look like endings at first. Give yourself the grace to become!