So, growing up with the name "Privilege," people always used to ask me, "What's the story behind your name?" And I'd always tell them the same thing: "My dad was learning English and he heard the word 'privilege' and thought it sounded important."
And they'd always be like, "Oh, that's cool." But then they'd start asking me questions like, "Do you feel privileged?" And I'd be like, "Uh, I don't know, I guess so?" And they'd be like, "Well, do you think you have an advantage over other people?" And I'd be like, "I don't know, maybe?"
And then, one day, I was at a job interview, and the interviewer asked me about my name. And I told him the same thing I always tell people. And he was like, "Well, do you think your name gives you a sense of entitlement?" And I was like, "Whoa, I never thought about it that way."
And then, it started to dawn on me: maybe my name does carry a certain weight. Maybe people expect more from me because of it. And maybe, just maybe, I should start living up to it.
So, I started to take my name seriously, and I started to work on becoming the best version of myself. And you know what? People started to treat me differently. They started to see me as a person of privilege, but in the best sense of the word.
And now, when people ask me about my name, I tell them a different story. I tell them about how I took the word "privilege" and made it my own. I tell them about how I embraced my name and made it mean something. And I tell them that, yes, I am privileged, but not in the way they might think. I'm privileged to have the opportunity to make a difference in the world, and that's what I plan to do.