I never liked my name growing up. I never identified with it. I've thought about changing my name for a lot of my life.
Has anyone here ever assumed a new legal identity?
I've been feeling much more in touch with certain aspects of myself, and we've surmised that officially, the first name that ever felt right is Sam. Since I am getting a divorce, I'm seriously considering changing my whole name and just starting over when I transition to graduate school. I'd be symbolically cutting ties with my family and the person my family hurt. I'd be on the path I want to be, I'll be a doctor of neuroscience in a few years. No one will know me or my past.
Does this seem okay? Does anyone have experience? I'm not rushing, because I don't want to do this on a whim and regret it, though, I've accepted this name since I was six.