Rachel Suzanne Tien Wood Freedom to Be

Do you grow into your name? Or do you think your name is destiny telling you who you are? 

"Tien" is one of the Vietnamese names that I was adopted with. My parents choose to keep it in my American name as a tribute to my ancestry. 

The meaning of Tien can have several meanings depending on the context. Some common meanings include:

"forward" or "advance"  
"to gain" or "to earn"  
"kindness" or "benevolence"

It has Chinese origins from the character "" (tin), which means "sky" or "heaven." The character also has other meanings like "natural", "fate" and "day".

However I got the name, being Tien is my name. As a kid I used to hide that name because it made me different than the other kids in the USA. As an adult, I am more public about it for it is who I am. My name, although many others have it too, has shaped me, and thus it makes sense that it shapes my art too.  