A Brief Introduction

People often ask me about my name. Kekla. I suppose that is as good a place as any to begin an introduction, even in a forum such as this one, where there will be no official shaking of hands. Does my name define me? Maybe. At least, more so than anything else does. Kekla means sunrise, or morning star, in Bassa, a language spoken in Cameroon, West Africa, where my father was born and raised. He and my mother, who is an American of Dutch and Scottish ancestry, decided to give my brother and me Bassa names so that we would always be in touch with the Cameroonian half of our heritage, despite living in the United States.

I got the name Kekla because I was born early in the morning; my parents looked at me, and it just seemed to fit. Still does. I like my name: the letters it uses, the sound it makes, the way it looks on paper in lots of different fonts. Even more, I like the things it symbolizes: warmth, new beginnings, light and possibilities. I like that it begins to tell a story, even before the person hearing it knows what the rest of that story will be. My name says that I am not just an ordinary woman, not just a normal American, not just a typical bi-racial American (if any of those things even exist). Rather, it invites you to listen a little closer. There is something more there. It doesn't tell you all of who I am, but it tells you I am someone.

I first encountered The Women's Mosaic five years ago, at a time when I was looking for inspiration, looking to define myself, looking to connect with people who could help me understand what this world is about, and how I can best live in it. These questions continue, but I have learned that TWM is a wonderful place to explore the answers.

I am still writing my story, day by day…