“Mary… no… Caitlin! Whoever you are, come over here!” Ever since I was born, my mom has been calling me my aunt’s name, a trivial issue, but it bothered me when I was younger. At first, I didn’t really see how it even was an option because I was 5 and she was 32, but it still happened more often than you would expect. 

Growing up, my aunt was seven years younger than my mom, but when they got older they became best friends. It was only fitting that my mom would name her first daughter after her only sister. My aunt’s middle name is Caitlin, so when it came to picking names for me, my mom knew it was a definite contender, and the name is Irish, an important part of my mom’s heritage, meaning pure and clean. Most importantly though, it comes from my aunt, one of my biggest cheerleaders and inspirations in life. 

To many, I look more like her than I do either of my actual parents. Long brown hair, long legs, and a similar facial structure: a short list of the comparisons I have heard from my family. But, the comparisons don’t stop there; my mom says that we have the same mannerisms, using logic and reasoning to go about our day. We both put those around us first, making sure they are happy. My mom even says that as I have grown up, she can see my aunt and I looking and acting more and more alike every day, which means hearing “Mary” more frequently than I would prefer.

The name fits us both well, trying our best to have good intentions in all that we do. Pure and clean are only some of the many ways to describe us. I had never thought about someone as clean before, but I find it interesting how the description can fit us both. We want things in a certain way, and we try hard to keep things in order. Also, we both work hard to get ahead, not cheating others to get above them. My aunt is an attorney- she works hard to keep good people safe, but also having care and compassion for others in her work. On my basketball team, I am the one who never gets mad and people can always count on me to have a positive attitude, even when practice is tough. Whenever I do something, I try my best to do it right and earn whatever I receive. 

I love being able to honor my aunt in my life by having a constant reminder and connection to her, even if I get called “Mary” once in a while.