My name is Rummel Pinera. It is pronounced as Roo-mel Pee-ne-ra. I was named after a famous German military general- Erwin Rommel. My parents were enchanted by a movie called "The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel", that's why they named me as Rummel.

My first name came from a surname of a famous German general. My first name is actually spelled as R-U-M-M-E-L. The reason for that was simply topographical error on my dad's part. He actually misspelled Rommel to Rummel when he gave that name to me. But I've researched the internet in 2008 and found out that there are actually some Germans and Americans who have a surname RUMMEL. But, still, the spelling of my first name is not the usual R-O-M-M-E-L which is quite common in many parts of the globe. That's why my teachers and classmates from my elementary schooldays up to college always misspell my name as ROMMEL because such spelling is the more common one.

My parents and relatives actually expected me to take up law or enter the Philippine Military Academy when I was in my teens, because I do have such macho name- Rummel. Some of my friends even persuaded me to join a fraternity believing that my name would give me the courage to face hazing. I was actually writing poems, joining prayer meetings, pursuing pro-environmentalist projects and doing volunteer work during my high school years. Though I played volleyball, basketball, billiards and other sports during my early teens, I wasn't super-athletic back then. I was reading the works of Thoreau, Emerson, Tolstoy, William Lloyd Garrison and Gandhi when I was growing up as a teen-ager. My dream back then was to be a cause-oriented writer. Back then I was already an ardent advocate of non-violence and environmentalism. In fact, I was about only 12 years old when I took part in a pro-environment rally here in the Philippines.

I really struggled hard during my high school years to pursue my own interests as a student. Two uncles as well as some older cousins of mine during that time even pressured me to become a boy-leader for the Boy Scouts, but I did stick to my own interests- writing essays, participating in environmentalist projects and doing volunteer work. Some of my high school friends also pressured me to become a member of a certain fraternity. But even then I was already opposed to hazing and all forms of fraternity-violence. Such pressures happened because some people thought that I have to live by my 'first name'. I really struggled back then to enlighten such people about my own individuality and uniqueness as a person. I told them again and again that 'a person's first name and surname will not in any way determine what his lifetime would be in the future nor affect his failures and triumphs in life'. I also told them again and again that 'we have our own respective choices to make in life, and names and surnames won't affect nor influence such choices'. I used those lines to liberate myself from the said pressures during my high school years. We really have to respect and uphold diversity and individuality in this world because diversity and individuality are eternal realities in the universe.

Since I was named after Erwin Rommel, I exerted a great deal of effort to research who that man was. I was able to read his complete biography when I was just 14 years old. Gen. Erwin Rommel was known to be kind and humane in treating captured soldiers from enemy-troops. Rommel ardently obeyed the rules of the Geneva Convention regarding the fair and humane treatment of war-prisoners. He also opposed war-crimes and genocide. It is said that he didn't commit any war-crime during his entire military career. He later joined a conspiracy that attempted to overthrow Hitler's regime in Germany. According to the Wikipedia:

'Rommel agreed to lend his support to the conspiracy in order to, as he put it, "come to the rescue of Germany." Rommel, however, opposed assassinating Hitler. Rommel insisted that Hitler be arrested and brought to trial for his crimes. By the time of his head injuries, Rommel had made up his mind to do his part to get rid of Hitler.

After the failed bomb attack of 20 July, many conspirators were arrested and the dragnet expanded to anyone even suspected of participating. It did not take long, however, for Rommel's involvement to come to light. Unfortunately for Rommel, the "Court of Military Honor," a drumhead court-martial convened to decide the fate of officers involved in the conspiracy, included two men with whom Rommel had crossed swords before. The Court decided that Rommel should be expelled from the Army in disgrace and brought before Roland Freisler's People's Court, a kangaroo court that always decided in favor of the prosecution.

Rommel was approached at his home by two generals from Hitler's headquarters, on 14 October 1944. The offered him a choice from Field Marshal Keitel: he could face the People's Court or choose to commit suicide quietly. In the former case, his staff would have been arrested and his family would suffer even before the all-but-certain conviction and execution. In the latter case, the government would assure his family full pension payments and a state funeral claiming he had died a hero. Burgdorf had brought a capsule of cyanide for the occasion. After a few minutes' thought alone, Rommel announced that he chose to end his own life and explained his decision to his wife and son. After the war, an edited version of his diary was published as The Rommel Papers. He is the only member of the Third Reich establishment to have a museum dedicated to him. His grave can be found in Herrlingen, a short distance west of Ulm.'----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel .....

After reading Gen. Erwin Rommel's biography, I learned the reality that not everything in this world is about hobbies, pizzas, ice cream, sexy girlfriends, card games and other known pleasures. I realized that our world has lots and lots of problems and we humans should help one another to solve such enormous problems. Each person living in this planet has responsibilities to do in order to survive and find true happiness. Sharing your happiness, freedom and blessings to others is important because that's the only way you can see and feel your importance to the community and your dignity as an individual person.

I'm not Erwin Rommel! I'm a completely unique individual being. In fact, I'm for non-violence. Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi are included in the list of my all-time favorite heroes. I joined 2 peaceful revolutions here in the Philippines- the 1986 People Power Revolution and the 2001 EDSA Uprising (also known as EDSA 2). Instead of becoming a soldier or a lawyer, I became an entrepreneur and salesman. I took up Marketing in college instead of entering a military academy. Aside from being an entrepreneur and salesman, I'm also a human-rights advocate, free-lance writer, blogger, poet, citizen-journalist, peace-loving activist and a 'non-violent freedom-fighter'. I'm also a very active on-line campaigner promoting human rights and clean elections all over the world through the internet. I’m happy that I became a free-lance writer and a cause-oriented blogger. The internet gave me the opportunity to write and publish my works. Somehow I was able to accomplish my dream of becoming a cause-oriented writer. I merely manifested and upheld my individuality and uniqueness as a person in pursuing my dream of becoming a writer.

Yes, your parents have the responsibility of giving you a first name. You will also automatically inherit your father's surname. In some cases, it's the mother's surname that would be inherited by the child. It's part and parcel of the parents' duties to give their offspring a first name and a surname so they can identify their own child. In such a way, parents can distinguish their very own child from the other children of this world. But the moment you grow up and start acting independently as a human being, you will be the one who will complete your own identity and individuality as a person. The changing of your first name through a legal process- that is if you don't like the first name given to you, the use of pseudonyms, having additional nicknames and all the other things that you will do to manifest your own individuality as a unique person in this world will really be of your own choosing. You have the free will to manifest your own individuality and uniqueness in this world of ours. You have your own life to live. It's not your parents who would decide how you would live your life for they also have their own lives to live.

Though I have already invented and used several pseudonyms and usernames since I'm a free-lance writer and blogger, I must admit and confess that I still love my first name. I love my first name because I grew up with it and it really sounds cool, nice and manly. I think I couldn't replace it with any other pseudonym or username that I'm using right now as a writer because 'Rummel' is easy to pronounce and, of course, it really sounds good to my ears.