What's in a Name?

It took me more than two months to figure out what to name this silly blog. I've always felt a lot of pressure about coming up with good names. It all goes back to when I was in second grade and I was in this club called Awana, which is like the Christian version of Girl and Boy Scouts. There was a contest where we had to enter a name for the local chapter's newsletter. I came up with "The Awana Chronicle," which was chosen as the winner. The leaders gushed all over me, like I was some sort of genius. They even gave me a sweatshirt. Ever since then, I've felt this tremendous responsibility to live up to my legacy as an Award-winning Name Creator. I know how child actors feel. Really.  

So that's a long way of saying I had issues with settling on a name for this blog. But finally I landed on Juliet Seeks. Here's why it seemed to work...

As you know, Juliet is a character from one of the most well-known love stories of all times. And if I'm going to be writing about love, well, it's a natural fit.

Also, I can relate to Juliet. While I may not be rich nor royal, I have had my fair share of Romeos. And I, like Juliet, have a tendency to choose the wrong men. I can totally picture myself doing what Jules did... I'm at a party filled with all kinds of young, polite, handsome men, and who do I go and fall in love with? The one who is the bane of my family's existence. I'm like a magnet to tragically flawed men. But everyone has flaws, I justify. And part of loving someone is accepting their flaws, right? What could happen? 

Famous last words. Because something does happen, every time. Things may start out well but quickly get kind of shaky, then all sorts of crap starts spiraling out of control. And before you know it the relationship is on its deathbed, brought there by a knife and a little poison.

Yeah, Juliet and I are disturbingly very much alike.

As for the other word in the title—seeks—well, I'll tell you what it is I'm seeking: A single white male who enjoys walks on the beach and....

Kidding.

In all seriousness, I'm seeking what we all seek. We all want to be loved, maybe even more so than we want to love someone. We want for that love to last, to reinvent itself, to continue to charge us. And this goes beyond romantic love too. We seek after love and acceptance from everyone who is important to us: our parents, children, friends, bosses, pets...

I'm also seeking answers. To questions like, why do relationships (and more specifically, marriages) end? How do we keep them from ending? Why is it that we always want what we don't have? And what is the reason behind people's tragic flaws, anyway?

This is what is on the mind of a young woman who falls too easily for the wrong men. This is what Juliet seeks.