Tujuba Dufera

ESL 100

 September 4,2023

                                               A Lot of Water

     According to our traditional family, parents give a name for their newborn depending on a variety of reasons. The most common parents try to give a name that describes a baby. For Example, to describe a baby born on a holiday, they give a baby name like Ayana for a boy and Ayane or Ayantu for a girl. In Afan Oromo Ayana, Ayane or Ayantu means lucky or a person born on holiday. Afan Oromo is a language of Oromo people, spoken in Northeast Africa and mostly Ethiopia and Kenya. The way my parents gave a name to me is similar to this one.

       My name is Tujuba. My parents said my big brother gave me this name. He heard this name from his school, and he gave me this name because I was a big baby when I was born. In Afan Oromo, Tujuba means lot of water that accumulates in a certain place. I do not like my name that much because when it comes to people's names, it means big person or big baby that inactive. When I was in seventh grade, I tried to change my name to Guta. In Afan Oromo, Guta means full. I like Guta because it is short and easily understood by many people. I also tried to change my name after I moved to Chicago, but it seemed complicated for me because I needed to change all my documents. The way I think about it now is that it does not matter to change the name, but I need to change my personality to become an educated person who helps others.

        I have a nickname that my classmates gave me when I was in elementary school, Tuja. I have always been called by my nickname by my classmates and friends during my stay in my hometown. When they called me by my nickname, I felt happy.