What's in a name?

I can't help but notice that most people out in cyberspace have monikers that aren't their given names.

I can't help but notice that I do.

I think about this, pondering why in the many years since I ventured into cyberspace all of my vehicles have carried my given name.

Why have I never assumed another name?

Why do others?

I enjoy reading their appellations, imagining what each person was thinking and feeling as they named themselves in this limitless forum. Are they creating an alter ego? Hoping to become someone completely new and different in this uncharted land removed from their everyday life? Because there is power in a name, perhaps they are singling out a favorite part of themselves, naming it in the hope of becoming more of that aspect. Maybe as children they never liked the name chosen for them by others and finally have the chance to give themselves the name they always wanted. Maybe simple privacy concerns dictate their choices. Or are there more nefarious plots afoot? Could it be illicit activity, cyber affairs? Or could it be that choosing another name allows them to express themselves openly, free from the expectations and criticisms of their family and friends?

As I write this, I question once again my continued use of my given name.

I think I've never given myself another name for several reasons, the most important being that my imagination can't find a word or phrase that I feel expresses me to myself.

But I don't need imagination's favor in this after all.

I am Brook.

I am small and clear.
I babble.
I often follow the path of least resistance, yet wear down the boulders in my path.
I pick up silt and debris but can't carry it far, so leave it behind me.
Some days I am a trickle, and others a raging flood.
Shallow in some spots and surprisingly deep in others,
one could cross my path and never get wet or be swept away by the current.
I cherish my source yet always seek what lies just around the bend.
Unpredictable yet always true to my nature,

I am Brook

Mom,
You knew me before I could know myself
and gave me the gift of this Word that is Me,
Thank You