The process in creating and choosing a name for my blog was a confusing process that took much longer than I anticipated. Because I knew I wanted to incorporate my name, as well as alliteration, I found myself googling “words that start with E” far too often for the name of the blog to even be authentically thought up.
Generic words that start with the letter E like “exciting” and “enthusiastic” kept jumping to the front of my mind, but they felt too overdone.
Even more irrelevant words that start with the letter E, like “eggs” and “eavestrough” kept recurring in my mind, leaving me feeling hopeless in my pursuit of alliteration and frustrated that my name starts with such an uncooperative letter.
After stepping back from the name game for a while, putting it to the back of my mind and not worrying about it, suddenly it came to me, right out of the blue, “Emily et al” and it fit.
“Et al” comes from the Latin word meaning “and others”. While I was in university, I used phrase many times while citing multiple authors in my essays. So although I was familiar with this phrase, I was still shocked that it jumped into my head, after years of not using it! But it was because of my familiarity with it, that it felt even more… right.
The “and others” bit also seemed to fit really well too. This blog will be a reflection of my interests, thoughts, adventures, favourite things and others. The “others” can be seen as a wide array of interests, a list that may continue to grow as the blog grows, too. And although the majority of this blog will be a reflection of my interests and creative expression, in part, it’s also a contribution from others in my life, as well.
Whether it’s a Saturday adventure with my boyfriend or a girls night with some of my friends, this blog will make reference to those “others” with whom I spend most of my time. Even something as simple as a photo of me (which there will be a lot of), was likely taken by either my boyfriend or my mom (thanks guys!), meaning another person has contributed to Emily et al, as well.
All of these meanings behind “et al” resonated with me so much, that it was without question that the name of my blog will be “Emily et al” a place where I can share my favourite things, foods, places, activities and others, with all of the others I share them with.
Emily et al 