Amelia is a mockingbird. Spiraling down out of the sky. Plummeting toward the ground before leveling off and rejoining the rest of its kind in the green trees of summer. It gives your heart a jolt and makes you breathe a sigh of relief when it levels off.  

Amelia is yellow, the color of the sun and daffodils in springtime. It warms you up, and shines on your face. You start to realize it’s a new start, a new change, a new season. Amelia is a jean jacket in fall, keeping you out of the chilly wind, and giving you an edge that only it could. Amelia is icicles falling off the shingles and shattering on the pavement in late February. It makes you jump as you hear the crash.

Amelia. Named after the famed female aviator, my parents always hoped that I would not be afraid to embrace my adventurous side, just like Ms. Earhart. In doing so, it’s given me big shoes to fill. I try my hardest to do so. I like how my name flows, especially my full name. It tumbles out of the mouth like a waterfall, falling only to splash at the bottom.

I like my name. Unique enough to be the only person in a room with it, yet still recognizable on paper. Amelia is a name that holds a certain power. This isn’t only because of its famous namesake-it’s a storybook name. It sounds mysterious, almost transcendental. It’s a warrior riding through the forest, enemies creeping closer with every stride. She doesn’t look back. She has others to protect. It’s a Duchess, looking over the people she rules, trusted to do right by them. She always does. It’s a General of an intergalactic nation, suiting up for battle. She takes a moment to breath, to hide her nerves. She can’t show weakness. She has an army to lead.

Amelia is a special name, and the feelings that it creates when one hears it are powerful. It is the name of the first woman to attempt to fly around the world. The legacy that the name brings with it is one that I am proud to be a part of. The name of a beloved children’s character, one who could never really get things right.  It is my name. When I think of how I want to impact people, my name reflects those impeccably, a perfectly imperfect, powerful person who is utterly and completely me.