Ashli with an 'i'

My name is Ashli; not Ashley, not Ashlea, or Ashleigh. Just Ashli with an 'i', and I was given this spelling to the name because my moms best friend is Andi with an 'i'. Out of the 300+ million people living in the United States, there are only 3,189 people with the first name Ashli according to howmanyofme.com, and I have never met someone who spells Ashli the same way that I do. The name Ashli has the meaning of ash meadow, because it, "originated as a surname derived from the Old English elements [such as] aesc (ash trees), and leah (wood, clearing, meadow, enclosures)," ("Origin of the name Ashli"). I think that my name can define me because it shows that I'm not afraid to be different, and since I love my name and the spelling of it I think that in a way it shows that I am a creative and confident person. The chart shown below is a survey that I found with the "Origin of the name Ashli" article, about how people think the name Ashli sounds.

71

No Way

Definitely

  Smart?

80

No Way

Definitely

  Sexy?

70

No Way

Definitely

  Friendl

y?

69

No Way

Definitely

 Creative?

67

No Way

Definitely

 Strong?

72

No Way

Definitely

  Young?

            

Sophisticated?

66 

No Way

Definitely

   
   My last name, Keyser, dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain ("Keyser Surname History"). It is derived from the ancient German word 'kaiser' which means 'emperor', and the name Keyser has also been recorded with many different spellings such as: Kaiser, Kayser, Kaeser, Cayser, and even Kesser ("Keyser Surname History"). These different ways of spelling the same word are due to the fact that, "spelling variations [were] common among early Anglo-Saxon names,"("Keyser Surname History"). And according to the website howmanyofme.com there are only 9,027 people in the United States with the last name Keyser, and it also states that there is only one person living in the United States with the full name Ashli Keyser. Having this name makes me different, and have a more individual identity.

With my individual identity, there have been times where I am "two." The "first" me is Ashli Keyser, while the "second" me is the Ashli Keyser who interacts and competes with others in society. But being an individual and, at the same time, a part of a larger whole produces a dilemma. For example, applying for college. I am Ashli Keyser who is nice, eager, confident, athletic, dedicated, and friendly. That is the "first" me; the me that shows my personality and that I define myself as. But the "second" me is the me that is just another person in a stack of applications at a college. It is the me that one see's just when looking at me; it's the me that is defined by a GPA and test scores that are good/bad based upon others' scores. The "second" me must not only fit in with society, but also surpass its standards and have additional responsibilities as a citizen. While the "first" me is simply how I can express who I am and what I enjoy to do. The dilemma is trying to find a way to intertwine the two "me's" so that everyone I meet can understand who I really am in order to, "have the best of both worlds."

 Citations:

1. "Ashli Keyser" How Many of Me. Auron Technologies, LLC, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <howmanyofme.com>.
2. "Origin of the Name Ashli." Baby Name Wizard. CMI Marketing, Inc., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/ashli#node-name-sound-results>.
3. "Keyser Surname History." House of Names. Swyrich Corporation, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.houseofnames.com/keyser-history/English>.

     

We are the Other

We are the Other- 38th Street & Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN. By Wing Young Huie (2012)

In the first examination of this photograph by Wing Young Huie, it features a run down street corner in Minneapolis. There is an old restaurant that sold wings & something else that is illegible because the yellow restaurant sign is torn, and on the left corner of this sign there is a buck-toothed Chinese man. The small restaurant has no customers, and also has graffiti on the front window. This abandoned restaurant matches the overall scenery of this town in Minneapolis because the small shops across the street also appear to be old, weathered, and with no visible customers. There is also only one woman standing by the curb waiting for a bus. 

However, by looking deeper into this photograph we can discover the real meanings behind symbols such as the buck-toothed Chinese man, and the restaurant in general. The cartoon Chinese man that is shown on the front sign of the restaurant is the stereotypical way that people used to view the Chinese. This view is now seen as offensive and often goes unused. And also, based upon the appearance of the small restaurant and this street corner as a whole,  it can be assumed that this small town has few inhabitants and is most likely home to people with lower incomes. 

This photo by Wing Young Hui can be connected to Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale because both present the concept of "othering". In Wing Young Hui's photograph he presents this concept within the buck-toothed Chinese man. The angles of his picture cause the viewer the immediately look at the cartoon man, and it is drawn in an old stereotypical way that represented the Chinese. In Margaret Atwood's writing she used language in a way that formed different social classes that had different roles in society, and also the use of colors in her book- such as red for the handmaids- further enhanced the differences between the people in that society.