My Name and Some Family Info (Test #1)

My name is Marc Aaron Zharnest, In Hebrew it is Moshe Aaron Zharnest.
I am named for my father’s father whom I never meet. Being that I am the oldest grandchild on my mother’s side and in the top 5 on my fathers it was a very happy occasion when I was born. Also being that my mothers parents were still alive and the two other boy grandchildren on my fathers side had already been named I was given my Grandfathers name. This was not only special to my father as I am his oldest son but I bear the name of the person who brought him into this world. My naming was also a special event for my grandmother whom had already seen three grandchildren (two of which were boys) and none of which had been named for her late husband. So I carry my name with pride.

My brother and sister which consist of my siblings also bear special names however other family members have also named their children the same names as my brother and sister. For example my brother who is the youngest in my family shares the name Shalom with my first cousin who is the oldest child of my mother’s sister (my aunt.) So I always like to carry myself on a different level being that I am the only one who bares my grandfather’s name. My family history is a story and a half but here is a brief insight. My father’s parents were born in America and lived here all along, way back in the day my great-great grandparents came over through Ellis Island from Russia but thankfully my fathers family was no affected by the Holocaust. My mother’s family on the other hand is a long rich history. Both my grandparents went through the Holocaust, My grandfather in Germany and eventually escaped to Spain but was in prison and camps throughout and lost most of his family. My grandmother survived it in Austria and when she came over to America with her family lost some siblings due to illness contracted on the boat over. This is only an insight as to the history of my family but needles to say I am happy to be here in America.


Currently I live in Fair Lawn, NJ and I have lived there all my life. After my parents got married they looked for a warm young community and of course cheap. Fair Lawn was that place. Recently as my friends and I grow up Fair Lawn is seeing a resurgence of young people. Being that I lived there my whole life I of course am biased towards it. It is your typical suburb, nice peaceful and everyone knows each other. But in reality it is a great place to live being the easy transit with the train located in town or the bus or the 20minute drive to the city. All in all I am very happy and thankful for my life, family and where I live.