A teacher struts into his next class wearing a pink, buttoned polo shirt and casual Levi jeans. He greets his tired, cranky students with an enlightening grin. He scans the room, searching for the attendance clipboard. As soon as he grabs the clipboard, he calls off everybody’s names; once was enough. Everyone’s name seemed as easy as the first day of kindergarten. When he stumbled upon my name, he squinted at it—contemplating how he should annunciate my name. His face looked like he was on a frustrating, yet complex math equation. “Carolyn...” An uncertain tone spurted from his vocal cords. My name is Caroline!  my brain screamed.

My name Caroline has been mispronounced for years. People have constantly thrown Carolyn at me. When some first see my name, they might notice the silent e. They might decide that it is pronounced just like Carolyn. Over time, I realized that people mispronounce my name often and that I have to accept their mistake and not take it personally.

According to a Scottish website, my name suggests that I am manly and a joy.  Although, I do not consider myself manly at all. Caroline actually stems from my mother’s southern childhood friend.  My mother has liked this name all of these years and decided to name her future daughter Caroline. When I picture a Caroline, I see a girl wearing a long southern belle dress, wearing makeup with long curly hair. However, I’m not what you call the stereotypical southern belle. Wearing makeup only mattered to me when my sister bribed me into doing senior portraits. Makeup is not my routine; it is an occasional action that I only partake in during special events. I don’t drill in the effort to looking presentable for public places.  

My name sculpts who I am. A bubble of joy, a tomboy, and a charming soul. I inherited my mother’s charming, bubbly personality, with whom she shares her charms. My name fits like a slipper. I am unique, original and my name shapes my identity. Walking through the school halls, I graciously smile along with a usual greeting of “Hi, how are you?” sprinkling my joy as I go.  This is me a happy, determined, and motivated young woman.