Welcome to the Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition III!
Round SIX of this popular event is coming your way the entire month of August 2017 and it's going to be epic! The invites have started to roll out and everyone from your all time favorite Wa...
Hey, it's Zara! You probably recognize me as someone you previously knew as Talia Archer. Yes, that chick is me. I'm still that adorable, very innocent fifteen-year-old you saw jumping around like crazy at WattCon NYC.
However, one thing is different about me. And it's a decision that didn't take much thought. I asked myself why I was using a pen name. Maybe it's because I wanted to hide my identity from ruthless middle schoolers (which didn't really make any sense because everyone managed to figure it out before I graduated) or I wanted to sound rad and down with the cool people (which I'm not). But now that I'm approaching WattCon Toronto and tenth grade right before it, it doesn't make any sense for me to continue to use a name that hides who I really am.
My name speaks volumes. And to everyone who I introduced myself to as Talia Archer, I'm sorry. Because you truly don't know me if you don't associate Zara Ali with me. My identity rests in both my name and personality. I am no longer someone who used an alias to hide behind to avoid confrontation of my insecurities.
And hey! People who found out my real name before I announced it gave me the nickname Zalia (Zara + Talia). Shaun Allan was actually the first person to find out my real name. And then came a whole lot of people including Lucy Rhodes, Dorothy Lydia, and most recently Jordan Lynde, Kat Tonks, Ali Novak, Ariana Godoy, and Rachel Knight (honestly I had to include all their names or there would probably be an uprising). My name is a big part of me and to change both what people call me over the Internet and all my usernames on social media is a big step. But then I'm reminded that this isn't the first time I've introduced myself as Zara, and I feel slightly better.
Insecurities speak clearly. In my last Wattpad Block Party, you probably remember the story of Jenny. She's not real but a figment of my thoughts, used to express a point. Jenny's story reminds me of my own, but mine went a different way and hers went straight to the bottom.
This post is short but what better place to announce and introduce myself as Zara to my wonderful fellow Wattpaders? I'm still your mature, teenaged writer waddling around on social media. Thank you for being you, and I hope to interact with you all in the future.
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