The Steemit Name Game - how @barge came about, the back-story!

Hey folks,

@futuremind nominated me for this little exercise. His invitation was warm and welcoming and it is a delight to respond to. Thank you my friend!

This is what it is about:

• Tell us in a post how you chose the current Steemit username you have. The story behind it.
• Tell us your real name!
• If you could change your current username, which name would you choose and why? If you have a possible usernames list, mention it!
• Use the tag #steemitnamechallenge so that the creator of the challenge can track all the posts and check them out
• Nominate 5 people for this challenge

In the mid-late 1990s I got given the name barge by two close friends, Squid and Jobless. It was later picked up by other close friends like Zlot and Bike (all their names are stories in themselves :). 'Barge' is a rhyming-distortion of the first part of my first name Arj. My firstname is Arjun.

Arjun is an archer of single-pointed focus, a character in the Mahabharat and recipient of the wisdom of the Gita from Krishna, his charioteer on the field of battle. He is also of somewhat dramatic disposition and his conscience begins to prick just as he is about to take to battle. The war is 'honourably' suspended as Krishna gently explains to Arjun what the physical/metaphysical setup is so that he can decide for himself on what action to take :D.

But this post is about the name @barge.

Initially it was just a few friends who would call me barge. In time, it became the name I would use when talking to myself - especially in encouraging or soothing tones. I guess it became my comfort name for myself as I started to grow to like who I was discovering myself to be, and started the process of consciously dealing with my own pain and grief and trauma etc.

When I applied for a steemit account, I entered the name barge without really thinking about it. It was available and I accepted happily. I thought about it later, realising that I could have spent more choosing a name, but I know that I would have chosen @barge anyway. It feels comfortable, it fits. I like the little sideways move onto the theme of a boat, floating along (no longer directionless however :). I love the proximity to a sense of identity I am already familiar with, and the sense of anonymity masking personal inner space that it provides. It as if by hiding behind it, I am able to reveal more of who I really am! I really like the fact that 'barge' does not suggest any position, tone, mood, state etc - it is neutral. My ultimate ambition is nothingness anyway and it kinda fits here too!

I'm not sure what other name I might have chosen. I wouldn't want any part of my real name - it's bound up with baggage and past definitions! Not that I'm denying or trying to escape - I love the name Arjun, just in the phsyical world :D. Ok, let's see, I like the following names to some extent but none nail it for me like @barge does:
@thewoods
@oxbowlake
@untamedbeing
@psychonaut
@psychiller
@g4bb4r (a baddie from Sholay ₍₁₉₇₅₎, probably the best Bollywood film ever made, IMO).

Now the inviting (without any pressure whatsoever) part:

@camuel | @wanderlass | @cmoljoe | @kookaburrak | @mckeever.

Thanks for reading
🚣

PS. since this is a post about named identity @barge, I wanna acknowledge this emoji 🚣 that I use as a signature - strictly speaking, it's a rowing boat, but hey!