Speech: What's in a name?

Here is my personal introduction speech for my speech class. I lengthened it to just over 3 minutes to add background.

> Listen to the Speech (3 min.)

What's in a name? What's in a name? A name brings both culture and identity. It give you a sense of who you are. It tells where you've been and where you are going.

On March 4, I was born a two named girl, to a three name culture. My name is Angel Inokon and I am Nigerian. Everything in Nigerian culture is big. To Nigerians only two things matter: your title and your ornamentation. For example at the big annual parties, the women would show up with their long colorful, native gowns and big head ties, each woman's head tie outdoing the last. And guys, your status was indicated by how you were introduced. Men would be introduced as Chief so-and-so or Doctor so-and-so. Regardless of whether you have attained such status in real life. You see it was important to be at the top of the food chain. Your title and your clothes indicated that. And then there was me, at the bottom. I was at the bottom because I was a girl. If there was food we would be served last. If there were chairs, the chiefs would be seated first. A girl was only noticed if she won a beauty contest.

I was below even the beauty queens. I was fat. I wore American clothes. I couldn't speak the language. And worse still I only had two names.

I would introduce myself saying, "Hi I'm Angel Inokon."

The response would be "Eh, but what ees your Nigerian name? You have no Nigerian name?!"
That would be followed by a high pitched sound that indicates scorn, "sssttthh!"

But I would go to the parties anyway hoping to learn about my culture.

One day all that anonymity faded away. When I came back from my first year at Harvard, the stance had changed. Now I was being introduced,

"Pluese kum, kum. I want you to meet haer. Dis ees Adiaha Inokon ke Hahvad"

I went from having two names to four. I was Adiaha Inokon ke Harvard. Adiaha means first daughter. Inokon is my father's last name. Then there is ke which means "from" and then the last word Harvard. The name basically means my father's first daughter who goes to Harvard. While I never became Angel Inokon. I did gain a title, a name that tells me something about my culture. It tells me who I am and whose I am. I went from being invisible to visible. I went from having two names to four. So when I ask, What's in a name? Everything.

> Listen to the Speech (3 min)