And That Single Moment Was Mine.

Samiha Julakha. 

That is the name written on my precious little birth certificate. However, I have many more names than it appears, but I'll just give you a little insight on SAMIHA JULAKHA. Two beautifully constructed complications. Yes, that is MY name. For a good whole half of my life, I hated my name. Why? Well almost no one could spell it, say it, or even try to pronounce it. I always wanted something that was simple but unique. A name like Samina or  Mirah. But no, I was given the name Samiha Julakha, pronounced saa-me-hah  joo-lake-ah. It's such a bother to have such a name. I'm the girl who screams out her name during attendance before the teacher even has a chance to pronounce it. I've been told all my life what a beautiful and unique name I have and a personality to match it. However, I've always been more irritated by my name than I am happy to have it. 

It has always been a tradition in my family and culture to have your child named after an Arabic word, thus my name was born. Samiha comes from the Arabic word "samih" which means generous, kind-hearted, and tolerant. After some time, I realized that for me, what could be more beautiful than Arabic? Drumroll please, for my last name, Julakha. This has a bit of a different story behind it than just finding a pretty Arabic word. . I was named after my dad's mother. My grandmother Julakha Khatin. The reason behind naming me Julakha was because I never got to meet her. She was my dad's pride & joy and he absolutely loved her more than anything. The funny part about my grandmother is that she was never too fond of girls. Ironic because she is a girl. However, she always felt that boys could do everything better than girls. Sadly, I never agreed with this. After her death my dad was shattered; and being so distanced from her, he had no way to be reminded of his mother Soon after, I came into the picture and my dad wanted his mother's name to live on, so he put a stamp on it and my name became Samiha Julakha. Instead of having the family last name, Sarwer,  I was given one that made me sound like I was some distant family member. 

I've gone through my whole life with many nicknames and many wrong pronunciation. But most of all, I always wanted a middle name, and maybe another name after that. My entire family has middle names. I wanted to be an insider with them, but instead I was stuck with just Samiha Julakha. Everyone in my family has a a first name, 3 or 4 middle names, a last name and at least one nickname. I have a bazillion nicknames, but always wanted to have a fancy little middle name. I have cousins with names like "Mohammad Faqrul Shams Ovi Uddin Islam," mouthful huh? I wanted to be able to be as fancy as Esteban from the Suite Life of Zack & Cody. It was always so entertaining to hear the name "Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoya de la Rosa Ramirez." Unfortunately, I was never given that fun of a name. But here I am, 16 years later with Samiha Julakha. Today, I am happy to have such a name because I know deep down there could never be another Samiha Julakha, and if there is. She could never be me. 

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