my name is ashley nicole too

i never realized how much my name meant to me until recently...

i was able to tell my smash story to a friend yesterday - my freshman year of college, i played soccer. and my friend decided to start calling me smashly because either i kept smashing into people or i kept getting smashed into. either way, i didn't like the new nickname. so another friend decided to change it to smash. i can't say i liked that either. but it stuck. i still have friends that only call me smash.

and it ended up working out well because one of my closest friend's name is ashley nicole too. have you ever had a best friend with the same name? its not too bad. we enjoyed it for the most part. my favorite was "ashley squared time." it was easy to respond to people and fun to mess with. in hopes to not confuse us, she was "biggs" or some rendition and i was "smash". though now i am realizing, i miss being called ashley by some people.

yesterday on the bus, i met angela. a homeless woman taking advantage of the ozone action day (free bus rides). she and her friend, john, were headed south. so were we... looking for first friday. we never found first friday. however, we did take our new friends to dinner at whataburger instead. and i found out that angela has a granddaughter named ashley nicole. she spoke so highly of her family and her face lit up when i said, "my name is ashley nicole too..."

ah, the winds are changing. i really don't know what that looks like for me. but i think its time to embrace being ashley nicole again. growing up and self discovery. learning to stand independent. knowing God will provide and protect. believing He is Lord.