Outside the box thinking.

"I wondered my whole life why I was given the mostly female name of Tracy. I would get made fun of in school for having such a name. It bothered me so much because of being made fun of that my teachers started to call me T.J. to help curb the bullying. This happened pretty much all throughout grade school.

"Some of my early classmates would get to know me as T.J. Some who have moved away probably never even got to know my real name.

"My grandpa told me a story. I am not sure if it was one of his tall tales or if it could possibly be the truth.

"He told me that one night he was driving along the Platte River through a town called Tracy. He told me that he was very hungry and that he had hit a bullfrog on the highway with his car. He took this bullfrog into a local diner in the town of Tracy.

"He was wondering if someone in that diner could cook the bullfrog for him. He told me as the cook came from the kitchen into the diner that he fell in love at first sight.

"The cook that was in the kitchen, the one who decided to cook a bullfrog, was my grandma. He told me this is why I was named Tracy. I was named after the place where they first met.

"Most definitely what he told me gives me a little pride to carry the name Tracy. I mean, to be named after a place where they met was awesome. Not to mention the fact I already knew he was the one to give me my middle name.

"Today I have figured out the entire meaning, purpose, and value of my name. My name alone never had a place to call home because, to me, it seemed for years that I didn't really like my name.

"My first name Tracy now represents both male and female. Tracy represents hunger because my grandpa was hungry when he hit a frog. It most definitely represents love because he fell in love with my grandma. But most importantly, it represents a community because I was named after a town.

"My middle name Jay, given to me by my grandpa, has extreme value as well. My middle name, to me, represents race, for a Blue Jay is born a black bird. How could I ever be racist with such a name?

"My middle name represents the fierce voice of a bird that protects its family. Most of all, my middle name represents change. It is the Blue Jay that changes from a blackbird to the most beautiful recognizable bird in the world!

"To me, I have the most powerful, the most meaningful, the most valuable name I have ever heard of. A name that represents their fearless voice for change."