After reading Hanif Abdurraqib’s article and watching Unlearning My Name in class, I feel like both of these talk about how their name is influenced by family and culture and how their names have been mispronounced or misspelled, which is normal. I also assume that their names reflect their true identity. My name is Khia. “Khia” it’s a unique name. My name was supposed to be “Kia,” but my mother decided to add “h” so that I wasn’t named after a car company called “Kia” and that people wouldn’t make fun of it. When I meet new people, most of them pronounced my name wrong. They pronounced it as “kai-uh,” but it’s pronounced as “kee-uh.” I really love my name. Although I was uncertain about it in the past.
My name comes from an indigenous and African-American background. I was born with a mixed heritage, mainly Native American and some Caucasian, so I am technically a multiracial or “Black Native American”
I know that most African Americans and multiracial people have unique names and different backgrounds, but most of them I know don’t have an indigenous family history. Most of the girls in my race have a common unique name in African American culture. My name is very different. Most people I know have no other backgrounds outside their ethnicity or race background. It made me feel confused and isolated because I wasn’t like other people at all and I didn’t understand how other people don’t have multiple backgrounds like me. I felt like I was the person who had an “unknown” race, which means that I didn’t know which race I belong to despite the color of my skin. I hated being different because I felt like everyone was the same and that it was impossible to find a similar connection with someone.
I couldn’t figure out what my name means and what it means to other people. I was not able to find my own true identity, who I am. I lost myself.
Suddenly, I noticed that all of these things reflected my personality as I do the things I love, how I interacted with and behaved with others, and I didn’t notice what I did that reflected my name. I even realized that although most people share a similarity, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to have this kind of connection or something in common, including personality. It doesn’t matter. I also realized that most people have unique backgrounds, whenever you’re white, black, or of any race.
Everyone is just different. I enjoy being unique now, and most importantly, I also found my true identity and being proud of my mixed background. I love my name because I am exceptional and proud of t
Khia, this is really well written– almost a story or an essay in itself. Lovely.