This Starbucks cup sealed the deal with something I had been contemplating recently. My legal birth name is Rachelle but I have been called Shelley my entire life. This is probably a good thing because whenever I need to use my legal name, it is a complete pain!! No one ever gets it right, both in spelling and pronunciation. It’s not just one common mistake, there are several variations people come up with. In fact, when I was going into junior high I remember trying to use it so I seemed more “sophisticated” but it was exhausting so I have always just stuck with Shelley. There is nothing wrong with it besides having to accept that everyone will constantly spell it Shelly. It has suited my bubbly personality and fit my life as a mom with 3 young boys so it was never anything I ever questioned until a few weeks ago.
I have no idea why or where it came from but the other day out of the blue it dawned on me that Elle is a perfectly logical abbreviated version of my name. In fact, it’s an abbreviation for both Rachelle and Shelley. So I stated this revelation to a friend who thought I was a little wacky for just now figuring this out but that’s beside the point. We used it a few times for a joke but I was really liking it.
Now, many of you know I struggle with a Starbucks addiction and have been trying to kick it but my school is right by 2 of them so it has been very challenging to avoid the temptation. Given that I believe everything happens for a reason, had I not gone in for a fix the straw may not have ever broken the camels back. To be fair it is difficult for baristas to hear with all the chaos going on and the added plexiglass barriers with muffled masks doesn’t help but really….. Jelly!? When I received my order and saw this name on the cup it was the sign I needed that it’s time to move on from my Shelley days.
I have been in this midst of many major life changes in the past few years anyway, so why not add one more to it?! If you have read my previous posts, you will remember that I wrestled with my identity post divorce as it was in terms of a last name. If I am going to shorten my first, why not do the same with my last and create a whole new one? So, I would like to introduce you to Elle Hart! I am and will always be the same person but as with everything in my life, I am evolving into a more empowered version of myself. It is the icing on the cake of independence, a professional representation of the new business I am creating through Feel Empowered Everyday and fits the mantra I embrace, “Simply to Amplify”.
I also am of the belief that it is never too late to try new things in life to expand yourself. It just so happens that this expansion requires a subtraction (of just a few letters).
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