FAMU: how my name has influenced me

this is about describing how family culture/ history has influenced you I need to know is this acceptable.. i think i went over the 250 word limit, how do i shorten it??? i believe it's all significant

Around the time of my birth, my parents' ideas on what my name should be had a totally different outcome than what was previously planned. My mother wanted to name me 'Sally'; "I like simple names..." she would tell me. While on the other hand, my father wanted to name me 'Shaniqua'. (A little ghetto-fabulous if you ask me.) But in the end, neither one of those names were given to me. Instead I was given a rather unique and uncommon name. A name that often becomes butchered when attempted to be pronounced. Erkenesh is my birth name.

I grew up as a child who often regretted the first day of school. The moment my teacher was about to take attendance I would prepare nervously for her to come across my name struggling to pronounce it; just so that in the end I would have to say it the correct way -out loud -in front of the entire class becoming the center of attention and a victim of laughter and stares. Some teachers would take one look at that foreign name and decide at that very moment to call me by my last name, Serrano, for the entire year; simply because it was not as complex to say. Now as I have matured I've learned to embrace my name -not because it's my birth name- but because of its meaning.

My name is Ethiopian and means 'reconciliation to God'.I was named after a deceased missionary, Erkenesh Tekelamarian, who took part in a great revival in Ethiopia and brought lost souls to Christ. My father chose that name for me because he found a connection between his walk with God and the name's meaning itself. He had backslidden from church and eventually found his way back to "The Cross". Thus, my name became a symbol for his relationship with God. At first I wanted to change my name; I know now that I wouldn't trade it for any other. I was named after greatness and my name has showed me that no matter how unique it may be it sets me apart as an individual. So let me properly introduce myself... "My name is Erkenesh Condra Serrano."