Wednesday, October 22, 2014

actually, it's Kiiirrrrsten

I've struggled my entire life with people pronouncing my name incorrectly.  Generally, I don't care that much especially if I'm meeting someone new.  I'm sure I say my name fast so they may hear Kristen or Kiersten.  Depending on the crowd, I usually emphasize the Kiirrrr part.  I also realize the spelling of my name can lead to a couple different pronunciations so I get it. 
There are a couple situation that can wear on me occasionally:

1) We are friends and you still call me be a different name.  By saying my name wrong constantly, it almost feels like you are indirectly trying to tell me I'm pronouncing my own name wrong.  Do you really not know how to pronounce it after I've corrected you numerous times?  I'm relatively certain I know how to pronounce my own name.

2) Spelling my name wrong in emails when the correct spelling is right in front of you.  This generally happens more at work.  I realize people are not doing it on purpose but my name is right there in front of you so all you have to do is copy the name. 

For the record, it's Kiiirrrsten.  It's ok if you slip up and say the wrong name occasionally or occasionally spell it wrong in an email(frankly, sometimes I even type the 'r' before the 'i' in emails) but maybe we should all take extra care and an extra second to listen to or read/write names properly.

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