My name is not overly exciting. It’s not a long, unique name. Yet it’s also not a short name. It’s right in the middle. It’s not overly confusing. 

There is only one issue people have with it‒determining whether it should be spelled with a ‘c’ or a ‘k’. I am never sure whether or not I should be jealous of those with a ‘k’ in Erica. I know for sure that I am not jealous at all of those with a ‘ck.’ The two letters together are way too clunky. Ericka appears as though the ‘k’ was just thrown in as an afterthought.

How I spell my name is quite appealing to look at. It’s a nice downward slope, like a ski hill with a slight jump in the middle. The ‘E’ provides a height to the name where all the other letters are shorter. 

My parents told me that my name was either going to be Mary Claire or Erica. They would have chosen Mary Claire because they loved the nickname MC for whatever reason. But they chose Erica instead, as it related to my mother’s name Heather. 

The Heather and Erica plants are part of the same family. The Erica plant is a very beautiful, soft plant with purple, almost tear-drop-shaped flowers. The Heather plant is very similar to this however it is a harder plant. Thus contradicting itself as Erica is a harder sounding name than Heather which rolls nicely off the tongue.

Although the Erica plant is purple, the name itself also gives a teal energy. A mellow name, with the shape of a wave. Continuously swirling with no real care for the things around it. Just as waves are pushed and pulled across the shoreline, the name Erica guides the speaker's tongue up and down. However, the name’s meaning is much more powerful like a whirlpool tossing everything around in any direction.

The name Erica means great leader, a powerful strong meaning. And yet it’s a grandmother's name. Whenever I picture my name I envision an older woman. The older woman rides a motorcycle and doesn’t care about what others think of her. Continuously flowing through life, running over all the obstacles swirling into her path. She runs with consistency and elegance that is exemplified by her name.

Nevertheless, if I split off the ‘a’ an arrogant prince enters my mind, who disregards all around him and flows much more like a raging rapid than a coastline. Snotty and obnoxious are the adjectives that flood my mind when I hear the name Eric, both of which are adjectives I try not to be defined as. Eric is a short, concise name. A rushing river that flows in whatever direction it chooses no matter the obstacles in its path.

Overall, I am not sure if Erica fits me or not. It is definitely easy to say and scream, I know because my coach and parents have no problem with it. It seems like a pretty name and similarly to my name I flow like the tides: elegant and strong. But all I can picture is that rockin’ grandma which I would love to be one day, but just not yet.