A Name With A Purpose
I remember when I was joining Hive, and during the registration process, my sister asked me for a username. I told her bipolar95, and she looked at me like I was crazy. With a creased brow, she questioned, "Why would you want to tag yourself as that?" Do you realize you can’t change your username, as it sticks with you on Hive for life?
I nodded like a two-year-old who seemed to be following every instruction laid down by her parents. I understood perfectly that the name bipolar95 will eventually become my identity on the blockchain, and actually I wanted it to, but my sister was hesitant.
She questioned again, "Do you know what 'bipolar' means?" I gave her the look like she's forgetting who she's talking to, the reason being that I never settle for a decision without careful consideration, and she knows.
So I questioned her back, "Why won't I?" And then she asked me to tell her the meaning. Honestly, the back and forth was starting to piss me off, but then, the way my sister was going, if I don't explain myself, I can kiss my onboarding goodbye.
I cleared my throat like someone about to defend a thesis, and then I explained that "bipolar" means "two ends" or "opposites." Basically as human beings we are either happy or we are sad. We could love, or we could hate. One minute we are experiencing extreme joy, and the next it could be depression hitting us hard. The thing is whatever it is that we are feeling at every point in our lives is very valid, but like the one rule governing life, everythingthat we do should be moderate, as moderation is key. It is that thin line between sanity and insanity.
So by default we are all bipolar; it only becomes a problem or a disorder when we cannot control the switch to how we feel.
After explaining the above to my sister, all she could say was "hmmmm," and she just started typing on her phone, and alas, my Hive account was created with the username bipolar95.
Now, aside from being knowledgeable about the name via Katy Perry's song (hot and cold), at that point in my life when I found Hive, I was in a very dark place. I really didn't know what I was feeling. I couldn't say if I was depressed, but then my life as I have come to know it was falling apart.
My relationship was hanging on a thin thread, and I have just been involved in a setup that would have cost me my freedom if I wasn't exonerated. As difficult as everything I went through was, I could say that I handled it like a champ by putting in conscious effort to pull through and turn the entire situation in my favor.
In that moment that I scaled through my dark night, I realized that the state of our emotion is not bipolar disorder but our inability to control that which we feel.
And since what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, I thought to put the name out there to serve as a reminder of all that I have been through.
wow, you're right we're either happy or sad loving or hating definitel6 yiu can't be in between, i think its very unique... like you were prepared for it....nice name now i know better
Well, that's a good reminder.
I see there's more to what is perceived about the word, or the name in this context. Sometimes, we just need to understand something better, perhaps through research. Bipolar...it's unique!
When I first saw your username when curating on dreemport. I wondered why a person would choose such a name.
Like your sister, I asked myself "Does she not understand what bipolar means?"
Now, I understand you perfectly. Sometimes we never truly understand some things until we see or hear it from other people's perspective.
I was surprised to know that at first the same question came to my mind as your sister's, but after you explained it, I realized that you have thought very deeply about yourself.
It is true that a person can think the best for himself somebody else will never think as much as you can think about yourself.