I'd never been interested in marriage. I wasn't the kind of girl who played "bride" or planned her dream wedding -- I was much more of a ninja pirate. So when the time came that my (now) husband proposed to me, I barely knew how to handle it.
Of course, I said yes. I also said yes to planning the big wedding of his dreams, which was lovely.
But the one thing I'd really wanted, the one thing I hated about marriage, I ended up doing: I changed my last name. I've regretted it ever since.
Here's why I wish I'd kept my maiden name.
1) I now share a name with my mother-in-law, who, bless her heart, is no fan of mine.
2) My former last name "Sherrick" was almost never mangled by telemarketers. My married name "Harks" is almost always garbled to the point of being unrecognizable. I now answer to "Park," "Death" (don't ASK me how that happened), "Parks," "Sharks," and "Harken."
3) I liked feeling like I was an independent woman. Getting married was enough of a stretch for me -- and taking his name was even harder.
4) I'd lived as a "Sherrick" for 24 years. I had attachments to the name and what it represented.
5) I'd been professionally known by my maiden name (I'm a nurse -- scary, I know) and I liked it that way. Changing names professionally is tricky.
6) Marriage = free name change. Divorce = expensive name change.
7) While I'd warmed to the idea of marriage as a good thing, being known as "Mrs. (My Husband's Name)" makes me feel kinda like I'm his property.
Despite the multitude of reasons I didn't want to change my name, I decided, in the end, that it was important for our legacy and our future to do so. So I did. I didn't totally ditch my maiden name, though. It's now firmly wedged between my first and my last.
What about you? Did you (or would you) change your name? Why? Why not?
I did not, and have to explain myself CONSTANTLY for it.  (Casey C)
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