You carry your family’s name into every room. Make it a name people are glad to hear again.

A name arrives before you do in small places, and it picks up whatever people have seen from everyone who shares it. That is not a weight you asked for, and it is not a verdict either. What you do adds to the same pile, which means the name is partly yours to write.

Think of one place where your family is known and one small thing you could do there that would make somebody glad to see you again. Holding a door, learning a name, finishing what you said you would.