"My maiden name is Martin. It means ‘warrior’. In my single days, I decided I'd hyphenate my last name after marriage. It appealed to me for two main reasons: first, having your last name stand for warrior is pretty intense and I didn't want to give that up; second, I felt having a hyphenated last name would show I wasn’t just married to a man but married to a fight for a movement. Don’t ask me how hyphenating a name can prove that, because I simply do not know. It just resonated with me at the time, so I went for it. If I didn't do the hyphen, I figured I'd at least use both names like Coretta Scott King and Harriet Beecher Stowe did.
Then, one day the winds changed and like my gym routine or avoiding cheese, I was just over it. Years later my husband showed up after I spent the entire decade of my 20's without a date. When I found out his last name was Bennett, I loved it, because it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice.
I grew up in a matriarchal family. In my eyes my mother, grandmas and aunts were capable of doing anything. Not much has changed since then, except the passing away of my dear grandmas. My mom and aunts are still my ultimate superheroes. My family is full of strong, hardworking, creative women, whom I'm immensely proud of. The ladies in my family combined can run a small business, negotiate the sale of a house, flawlessly decorate a space, make a mean portuguese stew and put unruly children in their place."
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