Chris Horrell

For most of my life I’ve always been known as “Chris Horrell”. Three years ago I decided that “Christopher Horrell” was more sophisticated, and that’s how I’ve been introducing myself ever since.

It’s a lot easier getting new friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to call me by my full name. People who’ve know me for a while seem a little uncomfortable with the perceived name change. It’s not that much different, really, but calling me “Christopher” probably feels like they’re using the name of a stranger. When people do refer to me using my full name, I actually feel as though I’m a slightly different person. A more mature person. An adult even.

I like that.

I like the idea of creating a whole new persona — even if it’s not that much different from my old one — with a simple name change. Actually, maybe that’s not it at all. What I like is how “Christopher” seems to more accurately reflect who I am now and not who I was in the past.

So now you know.