What’s in a Name?
Sheena Worthy founder We Are Worthy Wellness
“I wanted to start workshops that had this at their heart, the idea that every young person is worthy, just as they are, with all their perfect imperfections.”
In the famous words of William Shakespeare “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” However, I am lucky enough to have the fabulous last name ‘Worthy’. The name is super versatile, it’s true. It has served me well throughout my teaching career (even with the enduring joke of “Miss are you worthy to teach us?” at the start of every new year, followed by a ‘here we go again’ eye roll and a laugh from me and my secondary students). When I married and took the name, I admit, I didn't think much of it. Just another generic English name, not offensive or hard to pronounce, just easy and unassuming. However, as I have moved throughout my career and life, I've realised there is more to the Worthy name than meets the eye.
The word ‘worthy’ sprouts from the word ‘worth’ obviously, meaning to have value, a measure of how good, important or interesting a thing is. Over time worth has become associated with money, wealth and importance in society and interestingly has a link to how we treat things. For example, something of worth may be treated with greater importance, respect or value than something that is seemingly not worth anything.
The complexity of the word’s use becomes clear when we assign it to people, instead of objects. “They were worthy of the Year 12 results they achieved” means that we believe they have the right to the results they got. We might justify this worth too because the very idea of worth is subjective. It’s different to say they worked hard and are therefore worthy of the result, compared to, they come from a background that affords them worth and the results.
There is danger in valuing or rating a person’s right to worth. This is because, quite simply, we are all worthy. At our core, we are born with worth and that can never be taken from us, no matter our successes or failures. I wanted to start workshops that had this at their heart, the idea that every young person is worthy, just as they are, with all their perfect imperfections. For me the We Are Worthy message is just that, we all have intrinsic value and worth, and our workshops aim to provide tools for young people to recognise this.
“At our core, we are born with worth and that can never be taken from us, no matter our successes or failures.”
I know, I know, it’s not always easy to see our worth and I especially know this is true among young people. Teenagers have a unique style of self-deprecation, which comes with the territory. Shifting hormones, battles with identity, synaptic pruning and navigating the modern world weigh heavily on youths’ ability to look within and see their worth. As well, society is increasingly encouraging us to look outside to gain worth, through money, power, jobs, perfect bodies, friends, the list goes on. A quick scroll through Instagram is all that’s needed to remind an unwitting person that we need to have more, to be more. The We Are Worthy workshops are designed to debunk these ideas. To increase a sense of knowing and to give young people tools to identify how and why they are worthy.
Worth, worthiness and being worthy work as concepts that drive the We Are Worthy Wellness workshops, however, the surname itself also has interesting origins. Originating from Middle England (where my husband’s father grew up), the name was thought to be initially attributed to someone in the community who had done something noteworthy, an act that benefited others and that the town placed value upon. I love this idea, that in order to be a ‘Worthy’ you need to contribute to those around you. I accept this responsibility in taking on the name, and in using it for the We Are Worthy workshops, I understand that I must be adding value to the people around me.
With the idea that we are, in fact, all worthy at its heart- the decision to name the brand and wellness workshops was obvious- and We Are Worthy Wellness was born. My particular passion for contributing to the community of young people is how I show I am worthy of the trust placed in me by the schools, community or youth groups who have decided to run a workshop for their young people. I aim to be worthy of the privilege afforded to me in this amazing role, as a facilitator of wellbeing for others.