I have the tendency to hype up subtle changes that aren't that big a deal. Not because I'm a drama queen but because change has always been a bit of an ordeal for me. I always feel like it affects my mindset, representing a shift in the atmosphere. 

I find words and especially names, to be extremely significant. They shape who you are and sometimes how you're perceived. 
In biblical times they had a strong emphasis on the meaning of a name because they knew, a name could shape a child's destiny.

I was born Stephanie and have always really liked that name. It means crowned one, royalty or my favourite translation: Queen. 
I was named after the actress Stephanie Powers who starred in the 70's show, Heart to Heart. It featured a fabulous couple who were happy, fashionable, well-off and a crime solving duo in their spare time. 
My parents watched the show all the time. They loved the two main characters' relationship as husband-and-wife and hoped the same for me when I grew up and got married. (They were really planning ahead!)


Right now, Stephanie is a fairly common name, but growing up it was pretty unusual. The first time I ever met another Stephanie I was aged 21 at university. I was also the first Stephanie she had ever met, so we were both pretty spun out and became friends from that moment on.

Fast forward a few years and I was starting out in the music industry...
One day I was looking through Vogue magazine and came across a young model named Adwoa Aboah. I knew immediately she was a fellow Ghanaian because of her name and it made me think, maybe I should have a cool stage name? Maybe I too should use my Ghanaian name?
I told my siblings of my plans and asked them to help me decide. My middle name is hyphenated so I had a four options to choose from. 
They all confirmed that Bisa sounded good and that became my new stage name... I'll admit I was a little apprehensive at first because it felt like I was putting aside part of my identity (I know it sounds strange but that's how it felt)... 
I used that name for musical performances and it began to feel like I was shaping my identity as a performer; Who I was on stage and how I would like to be perceived.

I then decided I needed a theme song. Something that would confidently assert who I am as an artist, what I wanted and what I believed would happen for me from that moment on. 
Very soon after, I wrote the song Bisa Be Her Name. It was my statement that I had become a true artist and that's what shaped my style and asserted me.
I definitely would not say Bisa is my alter ego because it's been my middle name from birth. However, it has allowed me to separate the real me from the perceived me- at least on stage. 
Bisa became BisaNation by accident. (Six years ago, I saved a website on my phone home screen and it coincidently abbreviated three words as a title to read as BisaNation.) I wrote about that name and its implications in my post, Being Bold.

When I joined YouTube, people began to know me as Bisa. I found it easier because I'm terrible at remembering names, but I never forget a face. When people would stop me in the street, it immediately enabled me to distinguish how I knew someone. If they knew me as Stephanie, we'd met me before. If they knew me as Bisa, they knew me from an online platform. 
It helped me separate my life into neat categories, where I could harbour my secret identities.

I decided to "come forward" because to me, this all represents a change in my life. On my journey of self acceptance, I'm on a quest to embrace all sides of who I am. To relieve myself of all limitations and restrictions.


to Be BOLD!xx

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