What's in a Name?

George's mom stumbled across this essay that George wrote in high school. We both got a good kick out of it so I thought it would make for an interesting post. Unfortunately, that means I need to type it out. Here is goes...

What's in a Name? 

by George Lucas

What is it like to be George Lucas? Well, I've been George Lucas for 18 years and I still don't really know. It is part funny and part serious. It is part annoying and...well, it's really annoying. There is no one word that describes what it's like to be me. 

It's funny when people say that I could be related to the REAL George Lucas. As if I'm not considered REAL. It isn't fair. I'm a person. Don't I deserve to be real? That's ok though. It just comes with the territory of being the crazy person I am. It is endless. There isn't a day that goes by that some person doesn't say something to be about Star Wars or Indiana Jones. I kind of miss those days when kids would call me George Washington or George of the jungle. At least it was mixed up every once in awhile. I need some variety when people make fun of me. It isn't like people are flat out degrading me, but nonetheless, they are making fun of me. 

Being George Lucas isn't all it's cracked up to be, but there are some good points. Sometimes I get the director's mail. It's interesting to see, but I can't open it, which sucks. I can get into Star Wars movies for free. I just have to say, "Let me speak to your manager." The manager eventually comes out and lets me in cause he doesn't know what's going on. It's a nice little scam. I really don't know what my parents were thinking when I look back. I've asked them several times and they never tell me. Sure, they say they named me after my grandfather George, but I know the truth. How can you name someone George Lucas and not know the repercussions? It's not like I wasn't born in that time period, ya' know, when all that Star Wars stuff happened. 

That's ok, I'm not bitter. The real turn is that my father's name use to be Lucasawitts (funny huh). Well, I guess when his parents moved here from Poland they decided Lucasawitts wasn't really fitting, so they changed it. I can't imagine trying to spell Lucasawitts in kindergarten. That would be hard to get on a name tag. 

More to the point, what it is really like to be George Lucas can be explained in a little anecdote that I have. It happened when I was a little kid. This Ronald McDonald character came up to me when I was walking around in this fair and said "what's your name little boy?" I said, "George." He said, "George what?" I said in a muffled, scared voice (shaking because clowns weren't my thing)..."George Lucas." He burst into laughter right in my face. I can remember walking back to my father somewhat distraught and confused. I had a long road ahead of me. It is funny looking back, but I will never forget that as long as I live. 

Of course, being George Lucas isn't all that bad. I have my fun at times. If nothing else, having the name has taught me to be relaxed and calm; to play it cool. It's worked out for me so far. I can't complain. But, it's an issue of character for me. I have a hard time believing that people look at me as person, instead of a dude with a funny name. Do they see my character or do they make the assumption that I love movies and will someday grow a beard that will make me resemble a large woodland creature? My mom is famous for saying, "life is not fair." Boy, don't I know it. 

Yes, like many people I enjoy subtance in my relationships So, with every begging of the school year, with every substitute teacher, with every job interview, and every new person in my life, I sit back and wait patiently. What can I do? Some people think I should change my name, and to that I would say, "Yeah, right." I am definitely no quitter.