Mezdulene Is My Real Name

My name is unusual and when I meet new people I’m often asked if it’s my real name. I know they are really asking if it’s my given name so my response is, “Mezdulene is my real name, but it’s not my birth name. It’s a name that I’ve chosen to celebrate who I really am.” Some people give me a look that says, “huh?” Other people seem to understand that there is a good reason I changed my name.

Mezdulene, Arabic in origin, was originally my stage name. When I started belly dancing I lived on isolated property deep in the woods of Oregon. I knew less than ten people including my husband. I had one woman friend who lived about a mile down the road and one day as she was walking her goat, she stopped by and asked if I wanted to go to belly dance class with her. I went with her and the rest, as they say, is history.

Within a year, my radius of acquaintances grew exponentially. After a year of classes, my teacher quit and I started teaching classes. I went from only traveling to a small coastal town for groceries to traveling between Seattle and San Francisco to continue my education. Everyone, besides those original few people, met me as Mezdulene.

As Mezdulene I went from painful shyness to performing in front of audiences of a few dozen to a few hundred people. I gained self-esteem and confidence as my community of friends continued to expand.