Book of Me Title Page - Hidden Journaling - Project Idea

Cheers

So cool Colleen! It truly is a difficult choice, amazing that it wasn't an option to women to even think to choose 40 years ago! What a long way we've come eh? Congrats on your engagement, this is a page to be proud of!

March 19, 2005

Book of Me Title Page - Hidden Journaling

Here is the hidden journaling:

What’s in a Name?

I’m struggling at the moment in choosing my true last name. I was born on July 5, 1978 as Colleen Alyson Herstad. As I progressed through childhood and the teenage years, the name “Herstad” was a significant part of my identity. It was a reflection of the Norwegian heritage on my father’s side of the family, and it always invoked a sense of belonging to the Herstad side of my family, even as my relationships with them grew distant.

On April 20, 2002, I was married to Adam Wayne Lawson, and my name changed to Colleen Alyson Lawson. Our marriage was short-lived, and we divorced in January 2003. I chose to retain my last name as Lawson, but I no longer felt any connection to the name. I secretly hoped in my heart that Lawson would be a temporary name, and I would find love again and remarry.

I was blessed enough to discover a soulmate in Christopher Lee Naviaux, and in the first moments of New Year’s Day 2005, he proposed to me. We will be married on October 29, 2005, and my name will become Colleen Alyson Naviaux. The name “Naviaux” brings to me a sense of finally coming home after a long and challenging journey.

So who am I? Herstad, Lawson, or Naviaux? All three of these names are part of my life and part of who I am.