not a saga, but just in addition to.

      In America, there are many, many unique people, and to use the word "unique" is being polite. There are times when walking through the mall is like a visit to your local freak show. So to clarify things, i want to explain uniqueness in "Mariel" terms.
      The word unique is defined by http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unique as meaning distinct, or being without a like or an equal. Uniqueness in "Mariel" terms is defined as being yourself, and that self being genuinely you and not a reformation of someone else.

       Now, there are exceptions to the uniqueness factor. People such as this young lady above, i personally would consider her unique. The only problem is it seems that there is a growing number of people who do such stuff like this. As many people in America would call her "unique", the style that she is displaying is actually something quite a few girls display in Japan. It is called "Yamanba". 

      You can't really call yourself unique when there are a lot of people like you. I guess you can be considered unique if you and the people you are connected with know no one else like you. Chances are that there are quite a few people out there that are like you, you just haven't met them yet. So before you go around flaunting that you are so unique and special, and that there is no one like you. STOP, and think for a second. Don't be so bold of yourself! 

      My name is Mariel, i personally don't know anyone named Mariel. I know that there are more people with my name out there. I also know that i am unique, everyone is unique (i know, contradictory to everything i have been saying). Everyone is unique. There is only one of you in the world, unless you are cloned, which i doubt you are. What i have been talking about is associated more within the personality range. So instead of following in other peoples footsteps. Be you, and only you. As this sign in my old High School read "Character: what you say or do when no one else is watching". Be that person. 

THIS IS ME, I AM MARIEL.

AND THIS IS MY BLOG.

And it Begins...

          The name "MARIEL", not very common; Unless you are of the Hispanic and/or Asian descent, which i am not. I am just a honky from Tennessee. Not sure why my parents chose this one, I think that i will stick with the "had to much to drink and picked out some random name in the baby book" idea. In fact, i was looking through a baby name book the other day and it said that Mariel meant "sea of bitterness", i was so proud. lol. Any who, being raised in the south, people here seem to talk in a different dialect. There are a small portion of people that can actually say my name right. Ironically, most of these people are Hispanic. They make my name sound like a work of art. It just rolls off of their tongues with this sort of fiery passion, making you long for more. It takes a unique person to actually claim the name "Mariel". Before I go into that, lets go over the phonics.

          Mariel is pronounced [at least in reference to how you say my name]-- (Mar-e-elle) or (Mary-oul). As long as you stay within those two pronunciations, you will be okay. Now, what bugs the crap out of me is the people who pretty much glance at the name and then seem to make up an entirely new one. These are the moments when I greatly question the intelligence of America. For example, I am in college. Most of my professors are Doctors, which you would think would make them "smarter than the average bear"...WRONG. Since i have started college, i think that i have heard more unusual pronunciations of my name that i did the entire time i was in grade school. I'm sure that most of you have seen, if not at least heard of the movie "The Little Mermaid". The main character's name is Ariel. Almost everyone can say Ariel.... but as soon as you put an M in front, people assume its foreign. I'm pretty sure Ariel, the little mermaid, could have been considered more foreign than me, Geez. At least i breath air.

         Back to what i was about to say earlier, it takes a unique person to be a Mariel. Personally i have never met another person with my name, but i have seen some on Facebook, and i think that one of my friends once told me that she met another person with my name. Of course, i cannot forget Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway. She was actually named after the Cuban port of Mariel. 

          Now, i don't know what these girls are like, so i am only speaking from my own personal thoughts, but it does take a special person to have such a name. Its not something that you hear everyday. Its a name that once you hear it, you are left with this sense of "who is that person"????... I guess i would have the same approach if i met someone else with an unusual name. 

        Back in High School, i had this awful nickname... "Mertle"... I don't know how you would get "Mertle" from "Mariel", but someone did. There was even this one guy who went so far as to call me "Fertle Mertle"... wasn't high school great! I would have to say that i was a little above average as your typical high school student. I went to class, and i did my work. Took mostly honors classes and hung out with a pretty decent crowd. I even became the president of the Modern Language Club! I never was one to say that i was a Prep or a Goth or any of those "titles"... i was just "Mariel". There were times when I would try to change to fit into a specific crowd or try to impress a certain group of people, but now that that is all behind who gives a rat's ass what everyone thinks. There are certain people of course that you should want to impress (ex. employers, parents, and people that have lots of money). But as far as the petty things go, i don't need drama or care about who's dating who. I just have to be Mariel.