Sam. My name. It has been passed down through generations. But for me, it was pulled out of a hat. 

My Mom and Dad both liked multiple names. Sam was one, and Cooper was the other. My grandma was in town and when I was born she picked one of the crumpled up sticky notes out of my Dad’s old top hat. Sam. They chose Sam and my middle name is Cooper.

Although the name ‘Sam’ is what everyone calls me, my full name is ‘Samuel’. ‘Samuel’ is what some of my managers call me—and not in a good way. I think of the name ‘Samuel’ like a corrupt government forcing its citizens into vigorous labor. The necrotic tone of everyone when ‘Samuel’ comes through the hellish hole that is their mouth makes me shiver down to the bone.

In the German language, most words are said like a speeding bullet. fast and harsh. ‘Sam’. Take a minute to say ‘Sam’ in an angry way. In a normal way. in a loving or caring way. They all sound similar. When you try to say ‘Sam’ in a loving way, you cannot.

In Polish, Sam means Alone. At first, you might perceive this as a negative thing. But being alone means having a more down-to-earth personality. You are typically more fun to be around. You can easily push past negative feelings. People who have never experienced being alone are the people who get extremely depressed when that feeling does come up.