I can now cross off #9. Change my last name on my 101 in 1001 list! Chris and I got married in October 2007, but I just hadn’t gotten around to officially changing my last name until now. It’s funny that it took me so long to change it, considering how badly I wanted to do so when I was little. When I was in elementary school, kids used to always tease me about the name Solo. They would ask if I was related to Han Solo from Star Wars, or they would ask me where Chewbacca was, and I absolutely hated being teased about it! I couldn’t wait to get married and change my last name. I would constantly pair my name with other boys’ names and figure out what sounded best (anything but Solo). Somewhere along the way as I got older, by the time I was in high school, I started to really love my name. People would tell me that it sounds like a movie star’s name, and I loved that. The Star Wars jokes were still lame, but in an endearing silly kind of way, and it was fun. Now when people ask if I’m related to Han Solo, (and yes, they still ask) I just say he’s my uncle or something.
When I married Chris Marks, I was torn about the prospect of changing my name. I love the sound of “Susan Marks” and I like the idea of Mr. and Mrs. Marks, but I also truly love my maiden name. Plus, I wanted to continue to run my photography business as Susan Solo. So, in the end I just decided I didn’t have to choose – I legally kept all of my names by turning my maiden name into a second middle name. So you can call me Susan Solo, Susan Marks, or Han Solo’s niece. 🙂
I don’t have a photo to document the completion of this item, so how about a picture of Chris and me on our wedding day, courtesy of my sister:
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