"I think she thinks you spell your name wrong."

Ok...I'm just going to put this out there. This is something I need to get off my chest that I have been holding in for a long time. My entire life, I have been haunted by one reoccurring problem, my name. Now last I checked two syllable words were fairly easy to pronounce. Words such as chicken, sweatpants, and toilet...all easy words. Now let's move on to some more complicated three syllable words shall we. Ok. com-put-er. din-o-saur. horse-rad-ish. Whew, that was a little tough.

So I think I learned my letters in Kindergarten and started learned how to read in 1st grade. Then perfected my reading abilities in 2nd grade. I have decided that kids should not learn how to read until they are older and have longer attention spans, because I think about 80% of the people's A.D.D. (sorry now it's A.D.H.D. (which I believe I have an adult version of, which sucks trying to get actual work done. Because I'd rather be doing something else. and what's with facebook... I think basically everyone has ADHD now because of that addicting social network. oh crap, I was trying to make a point...)) kicked in at age 6-7 and they missed the lesson on er, ir, ur. They make the sound errr, like the third frog from the Budweiser commercials. My name is Kirsten (Ka-er-st-en). Contrary to popular belief, my name is NOT Kristen, Kristin, Kiersten, or Kirstin. It's Kirsten. That's a capital K followed by an IR an ST (like the abbreviation for street and saint) and an EN (the Spanish word for in). Not too hard right? Fairly easy two syllable word Kir-sten. Well, let me tell you what I have learned in my lifetime. Apparently, Kirsten is one of the hardest easy names to say.

Honestly, it never really bothered me that much when people got it wrong because I'm just used to it. If I just meet someone, I can introduce myself as Kirsten and they will call me Kristen. I can write an email to someone and sign it Kirsten and they will address the reply to Kristen (F.Y.I. their is a copy and paste feature) I have somewhat recently began to no longer correct people who pronounce it wrong, if I know that my relationship with that person will be short lived (like with a teacher). I don't like pointing out their mistake anyways, because it's a little awkward, so now I just let it slide. But then that means that I have to respond to Kristen (which oddly enough I have gotten very used to doing).

I also use fake names when ordering food, just so I don't have to spell my real one, only to have them stumble over it when it's called. For example, today my cashier at McAllister's. I gave him the name Kirsten. He calls "Kristen!...umm...whoops sorry...Kiersten!" See my point? But my name used to be a bigger issue when in Grade School and High School I would win awards or certificates and they would engrave or print my name wrong, so we'd have to send it back. And I do not think I hardly have one newspaper article, from sports and stuff that I was in, that actually spelled my name right. I can't even get my named pronounced correctly during the Prom march my Senior year. Awesome. Overall though, I really do like my name. I like the sound of it and it is unique I suppose. So Dad, I guess I still love you even if you gave me this extremely complicated combination of letters that make up my name.

Random thought: Maybe this is why celebrities are trying out some more simpler names for their kids like Apple, Liberty, Ocean, and Ireland. I will admit these are easier to pronounce, but after reading those names, I think I really do love my name! Yep, I've decided...it's a keeper