When you have a unique name no matter how beautiful or clever, to those unfamiliar with the sound of it, it’s strange. “What’s your name?” This question causes a bit more anxiety than it should for those of us with unusual names. The emotions that come along with hearing this question and answering it are complex. Let’s take a middle school example:

 It’s the first day, you are eleven, (that skipping up a grade making you the youngest likely in your grade), no longer the big fish in elementary school, you feel puny next to the real big kids. You are not sure what to make of this locker situation, even though your father made you practice how to open a combination lock multiple times last night. You desperately seek out your old friends, but can’t find a single one, it...

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