My New Identity
Full disclosure, I was going to make this piece light, but in order to explain the name change and what I went through, it has to get a little serious for a second. I used the name Haven Shroud before I legally changed my real name because I went into hiding for a time from my ex. I won’t get into all of what that entailed on here, but I will probably delve into it more fully on the paid subscription side, due to its nature of being a heavier topic. I had always been drawn to the name Haven, and the connotation of the word. It made me feel safe, peaceful, secure, and serene. It seemed perfect for my needs at the time. For the last name, I chose Shroud because I wanted something a little mysterious and the phrase, “shrouded in mystery” kept coming to my mind. After a bit of time contemplating, I decided it would be the perfect name to start fresh in my new life and with anything related to my writing. It was still me, but it allowed me to explore my new, improved self.
The conundrum of my new name in real life was still a mystery. Healing was taking place from the narcissistic abuse I had suffered; mental, emotional, and spiritual. I didn’t want to revert to my maiden name because I was done with that part of my life. I most certainly was not about to keep the married name. So, I pondered. As I’ve already mentioned in my article, “History of Saint Patrick’s Day” , I have always felt a strong connection to my Irish roots and knew I wanted something to reflect that. Driving to work one day, the name O’Shaughnessy popped into my head. It seemed perfect! I was curious about the meaning of the name. Meanings of names have always fascinated me.
It’s important to note that I was watching the series “Outlander” at the time. One of the main characters lovingly calls the other main character Sassenach, which means “stranger” or “outsider.”
As I was doing my research, I couldn’t find much about the origin of O’Shaughnessy, but what I did find was that it was a derivative of a word that’s closely related to Sassenach. Stranger and outsider are both apt descriptions of me. In fact, when I was on dating profiles, I described myself as an enigmatic dichotomy.
In real life, you can find me under my legal name…Corinna O’Shaughnessy! :)
Housekeeping
Don’t forget that paid subscriptions start the week of May 16th! The paid subscriptions will include both subscriptions for the week, and will be $5/month. The launch will be the following week, May 22 - 28. The sharing of my articles, likes, comments, etc. would be much appreciated. My dream is to be able to support myself with my writing and any posts on social media will be beneficial to help me see my dream come true! It might sound like “just words”, but I am truly grateful to all of you for taking an interest in my writing and supporting my work thus far.
Have a blessed day!