I thought one of my first blogs should explain why the heading of my site is "Rebranded."
The general definition of rebranded is to publicly refer to or describe someone or something in a new or different way. To change or update an image.
When I was 12 years old, snooping through my adoptive parents' file cabinet, I found a folder with my name across the top. Inside was a 2-page typed overview of JULIA, in capital letters, with a piece of hair from a haircut at 4 1/2 months. Mind blow number one; who in the hell is Julia? Was that my "real" name? Did my birth mother name me that? Did I have a nickname? I sat there looking for "Renee" or my nickname, "Nae," anywhere on the sheet, but as I read through the report, there was no doubt I was Julia. The majority of the characteristics assigned to Julia I recognized as my own even at 12.
Fast forward 34 years to Sunday, February 14, 2016, when I opened my original birth certificate and stared at the name my birth mother gave me, Kelly Evett. I said Kelly aloud softly, giving it a breath of life in my ears that had not heard that name since birth. I didn't think my personality nor face matched that name, but that part of me that had spent life bound by the uncertainty of her birth, seemed to find peace when she heard her name. It was official that I had a beginning.
I was rebranded three times in my life.
Kelly Evette - was born amid a birth mother's pain and relinquished with a prayer.
Julia - by the Department of Social Services as they begin to erase, rewrite and lock up my narrative.
Nicole Renee - legally named 18 months after my birth by a mother and father who wanted to imprint their values and give me a fresh start.
Each transition, someone changed my name and spruced me up to fit their image of who I was or who they hoped I would become. I was REBRANDED - to publicly refer to or describe someone or something in a new or different way.
This blog is written under the moniker Nic Johns, as I rebrand myself by my definitions.