# Note

> I have been called four different names in my life. Kashaan, Zeeshan, Waqas, and finally Waqas Khan Pitafi. The first three were my parents trying to give...

Source: https://waqaspitafi.com/writings/notes/naming-things/

---
Published

May 8, 2026

Pillar

Faith and family

[Note](https://waqaspitafi.com/writings)

# Note · May 8, 2026

I have been called four different names in my life. Kashaan, Zeeshan, Waqas, and finally Waqas Khan Pitafi. The first three were my parents trying to give me something that worked. The fourth was when family naming convention caught up with me.

The names did not change my luck. The people who picked them, did.

If you spend your effort renaming a sick child three times because the elders told you a name might be the problem, you are not a superstitious family. You are a family that has not given up on the child.

That is the only kind of family worth coming from.

Next step

## If this was worth your time, there is more of it

I read every message that comes through the form. Specific asks get faster replies than open-ended ones.

[Start a conversation](https://waqaspitafi.com/connect) [Read more writing](https://waqaspitafi.com/writings)

More notes

1.  [
    
    June 13, 2026 · Note
    
    Your first hundred blog posts will not be very good. Your first thirty talks will not be very good. Your first fifty essays for the newsletter will not be very good. Mine were not. The proof of that…
    
    ](https://waqaspitafi.com/writings/notes/first-100-blog-posts)
2.  [
    
    June 10, 2026 · Note
    
    I am older now. I have driven a Mercedes for cash, and I now drive a car with two hundred and twenty thousand kilometers on it. My favorite food is masoor ki daal. My pants are old. My shoes have…
    
    ](https://waqaspitafi.com/writings/notes/nothing-really-matters)