Dear Miss Creer,
One person is single-handedly responsible for the way I now pronounce my name. It is not my parents, who gave me a combo name. And contrary to what some people believe, I didn't just make it up.
Sometime in 5th grade on an out-of-town trip with my best friends for a school paper writing competition, I got an enduring lesson in names. My name is not supposed to be pronounced Fee-Gail, but Feh (pause) Gail.
It was life-changing. I left LIDE thinking I had one name; I returned bearing two first names.
It was huge, because it meant I could drop one name and use the other! Immediately I went to my parents and corrected them. I began signing letters with only my second name. A year later, I left for a new town and entered high school saying, "Hi! I'm Gail. Nice to meet you."
Now, the haughtiness that made me dare admonish my parents was entirely mine. But I have you to thank for opening my eyes to the wonderful fact that people can own names, instead of the other way around.
Thank you, Ma'am, for taking me on that trip. I had a great time learning the writing craft and bonding with you and Mandy and Yvette and Caesar. Your passion for the English languages had been infectious, and I still got the writing bug. That thing about my name was only a bonus.
Gratefully yours--
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