This Thursday I will have lived on this planet for 30 years. I don’t know if that last statement was grammatically correct but you get the message. I will no longer be in my “youthful indiscretion 20’s” but in my “you should know better 30’s”. Hangovers hurt a lot more, bills come more frequent, friends go home earlier, the music gets louder, teenagers make me inpatient, gray hairs poke out further, and PBS donation drives force me to be a contributer. I don’t know when this happened but all of the sudden I have become assimilated into the mainstream world as a grown up. But not without a fight. I will still catch an episode of SpongeBob just for a few little mindless giggles. But with that aside, I enter this third decade with a new me. I am no longer Bill, Billy or William. On Thursday I will be Will.
Why am I changing my name? I think it is more of renewed sense of spirit, if you will. Bill has never fit me. That’s my Dad. He is a nuclear engineer and the senior VP of his company. I pronounce nuclear, Nuculer. That proves the intelligence skips a generation. Billy, on the other hand, seems a bit too young and coming from Georgia people tend to think I am a back woods banjo player with a sister for a girlfriend. When ever I am up north I always get the question, why do I have a surfer accent rather than a country one. It also astounds them that I am a college graduate with all my teeth. William is one of two things; I am in trouble or my name has been called to go into the doctor’s or dentist’s office. Both have a negative response.
- Bill= Mustache
- Billy= Mullet
- William= A grounding with a shot in the butt
I like Will. To be honest I have never met an uncool Will. I also kind of like the fact that anyone who says my full name, Will Webster, sounds like Barbra Walters. But really there is no better sense of renewal than to change the basis of who you are. I was Bill but now I am Will. Call me crazy but I am getting a new license on Wednesday and it will be official. Besides, I think it is better than another tattoo.
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I like the name Will too. It seems that it will suit your amusing attitude. I liked the post. I will have to come back and read more sometime.
what’s in a name, one may ask? to some, not much. yet to others, it’s a definition of who they are.
i’d say…to each, his own
hope u have a great day on thursday, will.
Thanks Kirbyann! Please come back and I’ll be sure to visit too!
Paradigma, you are the first to call me Will! Thanks for that!
Happy almost-Birthday, Will! It’s gonna be great: New Year, new outlook on life, and a new “identity” to go with it…good for you! And I agree…you’re more of a “Will” kind of guy, IMO.
Ya know. At first I was bummed. No more Bill.
And then I thought- how hard will (ha!) it be for hin to Transition from Bill to Will?
And I realized- Not so Hard. They sound pretty close.
So-
Will.
Welcome to your New Name.
When I was 13 and started a new school I started having people call me Kristiane as opposed to Krissy. And that’s the way I liked it. So, if you want to be Will I will call you that. But I am not changing your name in my phone.
A name doesn’t define you, it’s your actions and your personality that defines you. Names are defined by what region you live in. Names that are popular where I live (Oregon) might be significantly different in Georgia. Some people are given bizarre names and the second they turn 18 they change it, it doesn’t change on their driver’s license but their friends call them a more common name and they put that one on job applications instead of their unusual name, or they just are such a great person nobody dares make fun of them because of their name. I have a cousin that has the name Bill he’s one of my favorite cousins so of course his name (from what I realize consciously) doesn’t effect our relationship and how I judge him. I think your trying to change yourself, better yourself, with a quick fix. Changing your license, the way you sign your name, making everybody address you differently, and you think everything else will fall into place. I don’t think quick fixes work. There is something inside you that needs to get healed that takes time. You say your age isn’t bothering you but I think it is on a level. You can’t handle going into this age just with yourself like all the other ages, you feel something needs to change in order for you to be responsible with this. If nothing changes and your just the same ol’ you then you’ll feel something just isn’t right about it.
And I saw an episode of Full house all about it so I know what I am saying
Except a call from me on Thursday!
Jodi, I don’t think I can be defined…by name or any other measue. I just like Will better than Bill or the various versions there of. I am not that deep. Just thought the momentous occassion like 30 would be a good point to shift to Will.
ok well it will (no pun intended) be a hard transition. Especially for your family. Imagine what the uphill battle your going to have with your mom!
Yes, my family had a hard time when I quit my porn career and shed my ‘Candy’ moniker for ‘Candice’. But they got over it.
I kid.
Good morning, Will … I do think I like the sound of that! Happy pre-Birthday! Do it like the superbowl and stretch the pre-birthday out for an unreasonable amount of time while filling it with all sorts of nonsense!
I always like to test a name. Did I know anybody in school by that name who picked their boogers (I’m talking high school, not grade school) or ate glue (now I’m talking grade school)? Was there a kid at the psych hospital where I worked in college by that name who spread fecal matter on the quiet room wall? Let me think for a moment. I am happy to report that “Will” passes the test will flying colors (not that you needed anybody’s approval).
Congrats on your new name and the next chapter of your life! (My Next Thirty Years by Tim McGraw is now firmly entrenched in my brain for the rest of the day.)
Happy 30th. It’s not so bad. I hit it 2 years ago. Okay, so the night before, I layed in bed bawling for awhile, but I got over it. One’s definition of “old” is a sliding scale that just keeps on moving up. I’ve realized that no matter what my age, I’m still gonna be a kid on the inside.
You’ve inspired me to change my name too. Nah, I’m just using my real name from now on. Shorter. Cant do much with it. People try…they turn it into Aim, Amos, Amelia, Aimster, etc. If you really truly seriously want to be Will from now on, that’s cool. But I bet your mama’s still going to call you Billy.
Have a great birthday, watch out for those tornadoes.
Thanks Amy!
Yeah, the folks will still call me the name they gave me. Dad calls me William E. and Mom calls me Billy or when mad, William Edward Webster the 3rd!
One more day, dude! Are you stoked? Ok, two funny name-changing stories: I had a friend growing up who had gone by “Annie” all her life, then decided to go by “Andrea” once we started high school. It was next to IMPOSSIBLE for me to remember to call her “Andrea”, and it confused all our friends when I would call her “Annie”….they had no idea who I was talking about. Then, there was another girl I knew from high school who changed her name COMPLETELY when she went to college: she went from “Jennifer” to “Jayden” (yeah, I don’t get it either) and THEN she changed her last name to…wait for it…MY LAST NAME!!!! It was so creepy and stalker-ish, I still don’t know what to think. Apparently her mom told my mom that she always used to “look up to me”. Uh, ok….what do they say, “Imitation is the best form of flattery”? Suuuuure it is…until they’ve stolen your IDENTITY!!!
Holy crap! That’s scary. Did she show up at your house with the same haircut?
No, she lives on the east coast now….the folks that I’ve told that knew her back when she was “normal” think it’s weird too. We did drama together, so at first I thought maybe she was going to be a working actor and this was her stage name. Uh, NO. She’s got a normal job like the rest of us. She just changed her name for no reason. That makes it extra creepy IMO.