The Meaning Behind The Name Lila
Ah, the most daunting part of starting a blog: naming it. At least, to me, it was. I hit this roadblock for a few weeks (well, I guess years?) on the name. I really wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to be unique to me and my space, and I wanted it to really mean something. I came up with alllll these ideas and a long list of options. None of them felt right. I played around with different words and different languages. The truth is that the blog name was super important because I wasn’t just starting a blog, I was building a brand. A brand that I intend to build and expand beyond blogging for years to come. I did the classic thing when you start a brand: to come up with words, feelings, and the vibe you want to be associated with your brand. It was super helpful but also left me with a whole lot of names that didn’t feel right. I knew that I would have this intuition or sense of knowing when I found her name. It felt like I was naming a child and this, this was my baby.
The name
Throughout the past few years, I’ve focused on mindfulness and being very present. Over and over again I experienced this very specific feeling, but I didn’t have a name for it. I felt it when I hosted people in my space (in college that meant all my roommates hanging out in my room). I felt it when I was in a group of people I really clicked with. I felt it when I was alone in my room even. It just felt so happy, so warm, so comfortable. Like I didn’t want it to ever end. These moments, where I just stopped interacting and fully devoted myself to being present and observing the people around me, are like experiencing a memory while you’re living it. It is wholehearted contentedness, peace, warmth, and joy. It’s the moments that make you sit back and think, ahh this is what life is all about.
As I began to explore this feeling more and recognized it as it repeated itself, I wanted to be able to have a name for it. So, I made one up. As I was naming my blog and reflecting on these moments, I decided that the name for both of those things should be the same. Because it’s those moments that inspire me to write. It’s those moments where I reflect on everything I have experienced in life, the good and the bad, and how if just one of those things didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be in that space, with those people, at that moment, experiencing that joy. It’s about recognizing and appreciating the butterfly effect, really.
Back to the drawing board, I went. I’ll spare you the details of everything I tried out that DIDN’T work and skip straight to the good stuff. Lila is actually a combination of a few words. The “Li” comes from the words light, life, and alive. The “La” comes from the Spanish word “ola” which means wave, as well as the Hawaiian word “Mohala” which is when the petals of a flower unfold or blossom. These were some of the major things I wanted to be associated with my brand. Waves and oceans have been a big symbol for me in my healing (which I’ll explain more in future articles). The first piece of writing that I published that I was really proud of was called “I Will Bloom: The Meaning Behind My Tattoo” and I wanted to incorporate that somehow. I write about life, finding light, experiencing life when there is no light, growing, going deeper, and blooming into the person you’re meant to be. Lila encompasses all of that. Therefore, Lila was born. I love it, love it, love it. It feels so perfect, so fitting, so me.
The logo
Then came making the logo and choosing colors. A few months back, I took to my Instagram story to ask, “If I were a color, what would I be?” and overwhelmingly people responded lilac/purple and light green, which just so happened to be my favorite colors. The font I chose feels fun and vibrant but still classic, which felt perfect to me. The lilly of the valley is my birth flower and it means the return of happiness. I write a lot about the return of my happiness. It also was my first tattoo. Lillies of the valley represent a lot of the things I hope to be. They’re dainty and sweet. They grow tall yet hang their head low, reminding me to strive for greatness and remain humble. They have a pretty scent that attracts people and while my goal isn’t necessarily to smell nice (that too, though) I want to radiate an energy that people feel attracted to and welcome. Lastly, I have a pink birthmark in the shape of a heart on my cheek. It’s one of those things that makes me, me. I joke that I don’t just wear my heart on my sleeve, I wear it on my cheek too. It’s the background shape in my logo (bonus points if you realized that on your own)
And that is how Lila got her name. Welcome home, to all of us. I hope you experience Lila in your life too.
