What's in a Name?

What's in a name?

Maybe not much, if you're always called the name you'd like to be called. :) But I've had three names. Come to think of it, I've had more than that ;) but only one of which I've been trying to ditch since the second grade!! ;) That would be the ever stubborn and persistent Jenny. I have a strong preference to be called Jennifer. Even Jen works in a pinch for those who feel it's too formal to switch from Jenny to Jennifer. There are definitely a handful of stragglers out there who still call me Jenny (and don't worry! I know who you are. Lol). ;) I haven't had anyone refer to me as Jenny on my blog yet and that's why I thought this was a perfect time to bring it up. I have no desire to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I don't want anyone to feel bad either.

When I was a baby, my parents called me Jenny. Of course that took off with a flying leap from everyone else's mouths and for many years, at that! :) But as I got older, I wished to be called anything but Jenny. At times, I even wanted to change my name to Stephanie or Valerie. As a kid, I could think of so many other cool names. I've had my work cut out for me! You have no idea how hard it is to have people change your name after they've called you by another for so many years! Lol. Unless, of course, you've had the same thing. ;)

Now, moving to Minnesota in '97, helped a bit. It was like a clean-slate for me when I moved to the cities. I just introduced myself as Jennifer and that was that. I was called Jen or Jennifer but not Jenny. Of course, my aunties (and uncles) will always call me Jenny and that's okay. The ones I've known my whole life can get away with stuff like that. ;) But I'm a very stubborn Finn and my insistence on being called Jennifer has paid off. :) My family and many close friends, have made the switch to Jen or Jennifer and I'm so happy about that! I know it wasn't easy for any of you to "change-my-name"!

So, when we moved to our present location I figured, no problem, another clean slate! Wrong! ;) Lol. For some reason, Jenny resurfaced again (as I said, she's very persistent). Where did she come from this time?! Lol.

Aaah. The lightbulb moment. Jenny Pietila has lived here her whole life! (Her real name is Jenny and not Jennifer). I know there may be people who think, "Aaah, what's the big deal? It's just a name." and it is a name, but it's also who I am and it matters to me. :)

And I understand how hard it is to call someone by another name after you've known them your whole life. I've had the same thing with many of our friends, Becky to Rebecca, Annie to Anne and Mindy to Malinda - to name a few. And if any of you girls come across this, I try very hard to call you by your given names. It's hard when we've always known each other as one thing, to change to the other. But I try. And I hope others will try for me. :)

I was trying to think of some comparisons to the Jenny/Jennifer thing to help people understand. I suppose it's like my mom is Anne and not Annie but then again we call my dad Freddy and not Fred as a nickname - but just us kids do that! Lol. But I just can't imagine Sue being called Susie (but then again, you may have close friends or family who call you that as an affectionate nickname...I don't know!)

(Aah. Isn't *therapy* great?! Lol!)