Flexible Friday #25 The Name Game

My name is a wee bit unusual especially for my age.

I’ve known this since grade school. (We’ll save the endless list of current strange names for another post.)

Typically, the teachers, all the way through college would simply ignore the “a” at the end of Sherra and roll call usually went something like this:

Insert Ferris Bueller’s teacher voice here:

“Sherry? Sharon? Sheryl?”

My very rebellious nature led me to sit quietly while other students would whisper…

“The teacher is calling you.”

By college, when I finally broke out of my quiet, meek shell (not kidding) I had this awesome one-liner that my friend Ann says she clearly remembers as the first thing she heard me say in Freshman Seminar. I sometimes still use today.

“I’m Sherra, rhymes with Sara.”

Because I find it incredibly awkward to correct people in future meetings when they say, “Sharon?”

I’m not quite as flexible as PhilBillPaul, who you may remember, went for a solid YEAR and let someone call him “Paul.”

He likes to introduce us as Sharon and Bill just to confuse people. He’s funny like that.

I have lived through this name game and I’m no worse for the wear.

Then I saddle my firstborn with a name like The Grunter Everett, rhymes with umm…nothing.

I’m a firm believer in giving a kid a name that they can grow into instead out of.

Our college boy has grown into his name but I see now he may face some of the same problems I have. I learned this when he shared some student critiques from his Speech class.

The phonetic spelling of our last name is the best version yet. That a college student wrote it makes me worry about this generation we’re sending out in the big, bad world.

Evan is close and this student didn’t even attempt the last name. Way to play it safe.

Ahhh, meet my son, EverettEdwardEvan. He did get an “A” on his speech.

Little Lesson (LL): Names matter and it shows you care when you pay attention and get them right.

Share a Little Lesson (SALL): Are you good or bad with names? Have any tips that help you remember someone’s name?