Friday, March 7, 2014

Another Name Game



I've chosen to write about my real name because of  Elsie 's posting.  She creates one of my favorite blogs.

I began as Tamara,
Named after a Russian ballerina.
Lovely beginning.

No middle name was assigned
Because Mom couldn't think of one?

One can pronounce my name the Russian way
As Baba, my Russian grandmother did--
"Tamarachka," (second "a" silent and rolling the "r").
Such an endearment.

Horrors to me when my 7th grade
Latin/French teacher called me Tamara (roll the "r"),
Sounding like Tamata.
I then became known as Tomato.

My last name was mispronounced,
And then I was named "Maniac."
What beautiful school nicknames!

By now, when my name came up on the roster,
People would stop and hesitate.
I wanted to raise my hand and stand up and say,
"That would be me!"

I preferred my name just pronounced "Tamra."

After high school, my cousin Sharon said,
"Get rid of it all and call yourself Tammy!"
Done.

People still stumble and hardly know
My real name now.
Then I explain why my real name
Has been left behind.

Now being older and wiser, I like my real name.
It's still different than most names.
But if you're a close family member or friend,
It ends up as Tam.

That is me!



7 comments:

  1. Kids are so cruel to those who have any sound links to other words. I never really had a nickname other than LeeLee, given to me by my sister. She still calls me that. I want to hear you say your name the way your grandmother did (when I see you in June :-) ). Remember that!

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  2. I am sorry people caused you pain because of your name. Pronounced correctly, you have a very beautiful name. Then again, Tam is clear and easy to remember.

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  3. I like Tamara, though I've never heard anyone say "Tamra" as the pronunciation before. I love what your grandmother lovingly called you! You should make an audio to click on here, saying it both ways, Tam.

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  4. I loved learning the history of your name and your experience and frustrations along the way. I've always felt bad when I've had students in the past whose names were tricky to pronounce. When I asked one student how they say their name, they just said, "It doesn't matter."

    I didn't understand, but then I realized they thought I'd still botch it anyway, so they figured to just let me call them whatever came out of my mouth. It made me sad that they had this experience probably more often than not.

    I always laugh at my name. If you look back to when I was born- it is the most popular name of the time. Recently I read an article that called it the worst fad name of all time. I give my mom a hard time and tell her how unoriginal she was. She even gave me the middle name Lynn which was the standard middle name to go with Jennifer.

    I will have to check out Elsie's post- I had a crazy week, so I didn't blog or read blogs. It's fun to learn more about you and the history of your name. I've been into nicknames and names lately too with the passing of my grandpa and thinking of nicknames he had for me and his friends. His best friend shared a funny story during his eulogy of how my grandpa gave all of his friends nicknames too.

    I like your ending when you say, "Tam is me." I've come to love my name as Jen.

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  5. I enjoyed learning the history of your name. I always feel bad when I have students whose names are challenging to pronounce. I hate getting them wrong.

    Once I had a student whose name I was worried about botching, so I asked him, "How do I say your name?"

    He responded, "It doesn't matter."

    I felt so awful. I realized he thought I'd mess it up anyway.

    I've been thinking about names a lot too, especially with my grandpa's passing. He had a nickname for me and after hearing his eulogy, he had nicknames for all of his friends.

    I love how our nicknames and names become so much of who we are. I always hated my name. I've made fun of my mom for it for years, because it was so popular. Everyone born in the 80's seemed to be a Jennifer. I joke with my mom telling her how unoriginal she was. She even used Lynn as a middle name which was the standard middle name to go along with Jennifer.

    I've come to love it though- with my shortened, Jen.

    I like at the end how you said, "It ends up as Tam. That is me!" I'll have to check out Elsie's post- I was out of the blog loop last week.

    Thanks for sharing. I always love seeing posts from you.

    Jen

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  6. I enjoyed learning the history of your name. I always feel bad when I have students whose names are challenging to pronounce. I hate getting them wrong.

    Once I had a student whose name I was worried about botching, so I asked him, "How do I say your name?"

    He responded, "It doesn't matter."

    I felt so awful. I realized he thought I'd mess it up anyway.

    I've been thinking about names a lot too, especially with my grandpa's passing. He had a nickname for me and after hearing his eulogy, he had nicknames for all of his friends.

    I love how our nicknames and names become so much of who we are. I always hated my name. I've made fun of my mom for it for years, because it was so popular. Everyone born in the 80's seemed to be a Jennifer. I joke with my mom telling her how unoriginal she was. She even used Lynn as a middle name which was the standard middle name to go along with Jennifer.

    I've come to love it though- with my shortened, Jen.

    I like at the end how you said, "It ends up as Tam. That is me!" I'll have to check out Elsie's post- I was out of the blog loop last week.

    Thanks for sharing. I always love seeing posts from you.

    Jen

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  7. I read this post twice. First it made my heart feel sad. And then I read it from the lens of you becoming Tam...it made me realize the way life is always made up of strength and struggle -- even in our names. I think Tam fits perfectly.

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