I've made a lot of strides in my life, growing from a unicellular organism into a fully functional adult in Society. However, one of my greatest achievements in life is having someone named after me.
A lot of people think my Hive username is just an aliaa but it is actually my real name. It's a name that I am quite proud of because of what it means and also because it is somewhat unique.
My name originates from the South side of the country and depending on which part of the South you're from, there are a couple of variants. There's Belemo as I was named but there is also Belema(someone else uses it on Hive), Mbelemo and then a couple of other slightly longer names where Belemo is often the begining, middle or end.
For example, it is possible to encounter Biebelemoye and Belemoye every now and then. People with these names often shorten it to Belemo but in their files they use the longer version.
On a number of occasions, I've actually encountered people who only know of the longer versions ask me what the full name is. They're simply not aware of the fact that people answer the concise version of the name.
One thing for sure is that, despite being a Southern name, the name seems to be rare. Of course, virtually everyone from the South knows either a Belemo, Belema or a variant of the name but if you quiz further, you'll find that they know only that one person.
I grew up in the Southern part of the country, so I'm very familiar with the names. However, in that period, I've hardly met people named either Belemo or any of the variants.
In total, I've met only five people named any of the variants of Belemo. Out of the lot, one is named Belema, three are the longer variants of Belemo and yesterday, I met the most special Belemo of all.
After me
It's not everyday I meet people with the same name as me but imagine how happy I am to know that I have someone in this world that wasn't just given the same name as me but was literally named after me.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting my cousin and her Five year old daughter named after me. It was an incredible moment for me and it is a moment that will last in my memory for a long time.
Meeting Belemo is something I've always wanted to do for the past two years. I heard about her birth and when I spoke with her mum a couple of years ago, she told me that she named her daughter after me.
Heating the story of the naming on the phone was nice and all but hearing it in real time while looking at this amazing kid named after me really hit home. Throughout the day, the two Belemos present spent a lot of time talking with each other and getting to know ourselves.
Her mum says that she's noticed that as Belemo gets older, she's noticing that her daughter is behaving more like me. Her mum would know because she saw me as a baby and knows all about how I used to act as a kid.
The crowning moment of the day came when we were sat at the Pizza place and Belemo's mum asked her what she'd like to eat. She instinctively shouted "Beans" because that's her favourite meal and that damn near bright tears to my eyes because Beans is also my favourite.
Having someone named after me means that I have to make sure I live to a high standard that will make her proud of the name. I will forever be bonded to Belemo and will always do my best to keep in touch.