What were you called in school?
I’ve participated in the conversation about bullying in a few places on ze internet – I think it’s an important discussion we need to have and keep having. The point of this discussion is to inspire action. If someone does not speak up, stand up, and help when needed, they are perpetuating the problem.
Here, though, I just want to ask, what were you called in school, a nickname you never liked? You can post anonymously (in LJ) if you’d like.
In middle school, I was Doogie Howser. It was never, ever a compliment – it was a sneer about having skipped a grade, an accusation that I thought I was smarter than everyone else (which mantle I took up for awhile, in defense), and later (after I stopped trying at all in school) an ironic name.
By the time I went to high school on the other side of town, it disappeared, only being brought up once or twice, which I was able to deflect. I kinda looked like him in 6th grade, too, which was not nearly as awesome as it would be now, ha ha.
To this day, I react very poorly to the name, just as I do to “Kennedy” even though Skennedy is the nickname my friends use, which I do like. Weird, eh?
Anyway, that’s my story. Things got better, much much better. I am happy, brave and strong, and it feels so very good to be alive. It’s because of these things that I will not be silent when someone is being bullied.
What’s your story?
I have a name I was tortured with for 3.5 years of grade/middle school, but I have never thought of it as nickname. It has no bearing on who I was as a kid – my brains, looks, hobbies, skills. It was simply something a bully thought of, and it stuck. In high school, when she was no longer bullying me, she offered some excuse to me for why she chose that word. I was terribly glad that the bullying didn’t really follow me to high school, but the damage that had been done to my social skills and self-esteem hindered me through high school, college, and beyond.
To me a nickname is something that is at least marginally accepted by the person who is being addressed. I don’t seem to have any current nicknames at all. Very briefly I had the nickname “Coach” (though I wasn’t a coach) by all the teen guys that I skied with. I actually liked that nickname.
I don’t have that sort of association with a nickname. For me, a nickname is something that is not your given name that other people call you – whether you like it or not. There really isn’t another simple word equivalent that isn’t loaded with more than I intend.
I don’t have that sort of association with a nickname. For me, a nickname is something that is not your given name that other people call you – whether you like it or not. There really isn’t another simple word equivalent that isn’t loaded with more than I intend.
I have a name I was tortured with for 3.5 years of grade/middle school, but I have never thought of it as nickname. It has no bearing on who I was as a kid – my brains, looks, hobbies, skills. It was simply something a bully thought of, and it stuck. In high school, when she was no longer bullying me, she offered some excuse to me for why she chose that word. I was terribly glad that the bullying didn’t really follow me to high school, but the damage that had been done to my social skills and self-esteem hindered me through high school, college, and beyond.
To me a nickname is something that is at least marginally accepted by the person who is being addressed. I don’t seem to have any current nicknames at all. Very briefly I had the nickname “Coach” (though I wasn’t a coach) by all the teen guys that I skied with. I actually liked that nickname.
I managed to avoid all that by learning invisibility and blending early, so my main problem with names in school was that no one could correctly pronounce my full first name, which was always irritating especially with teachers who I saw every day. The students never had nearly as much problem. It wasn’t until college that I managed to adopt the current usename.
I think the closest I came to bullying was social ostracism in 4th grade when I was “teacher’s pet”, but it didn’t last, and didn’t involve nasty names. In high school I avoided it by never going to the cafeteria and opting out of gym class (academic cluster) the two areas where the most bullying in school happens.
I managed to avoid all that by learning invisibility and blending early, so my main problem with names in school was that no one could correctly pronounce my full first name, which was always irritating especially with teachers who I saw every day. The students never had nearly as much problem. It wasn’t until college that I managed to adopt the current usename.
I think the closest I came to bullying was social ostracism in 4th grade when I was “teacher’s pet”, but it didn’t last, and didn’t involve nasty names. In high school I avoided it by never going to the cafeteria and opting out of gym class (academic cluster) the two areas where the most bullying in school happens.
Britannica, in Catholic school, where we weren’t allowed to skip grades for fear of missing out on catechism so I was constantly bored and wracked up perfect grades without trying.
By high school, I had learned aggressive defensiveness enough that my nickname was Spike until I graduated. I picked up Kallisti in the first week of college, when my soon-to-be-BFF saw the big golden apple I’d painted on my leather and called out the word to get my attention in a crowd.
That’s the one I still like, and my friends still use, and since I have to change my name again soon anyway for marriage reasons, I’ve been thinking I’ll put it in there.
Yeah. Things got better. ;)
Miss you!
Britannica, in Catholic school, where we weren’t allowed to skip grades for fear of missing out on catechism so I was constantly bored and wracked up perfect grades without trying.
By high school, I had learned aggressive defensiveness enough that my nickname was Spike until I graduated. I picked up Kallisti in the first week of college, when my soon-to-be-BFF saw the big golden apple I’d painted on my leather and called out the word to get my attention in a crowd.
That’s the one I still like, and my friends still use, and since I have to change my name again soon anyway for marriage reasons, I’ve been thinking I’ll put it in there.
Yeah. Things got better. ;)
Miss you!
In junior high, one of my best friends started calling me “Mich” (short for ‘Michelle,’ but said like ‘Mitch’), which i actually liked because i never had a nickname before (i guess it was flattering in a way). But i later heard from another friend that the one that came up with the name thought i was a lesbian because i was a tomboy and never had any boyfriends. So that hurt my feelings, and made me hate the name.
One of my coworkers actually called me “Mitch” today, just being silly. I told him in no uncertain terms that if he was going to call me Mitch, i would start calling him Robin (his name is Rob). He said he wouldn’t call me Mitch again.
Scott doesn’t have a feminine version, but I’d let you call me susan to call you Mitch :)
Susan is a lovely name ;)
Susan is a lovely name ;)
Scott doesn’t have a feminine version, but I’d let you call me susan to call you Mitch :)
In junior high, one of my best friends started calling me “Mich” (short for ‘Michelle,’ but said like ‘Mitch’), which i actually liked because i never had a nickname before (i guess it was flattering in a way). But i later heard from another friend that the one that came up with the name thought i was a lesbian because i was a tomboy and never had any boyfriends. So that hurt my feelings, and made me hate the name.
One of my coworkers actually called me “Mitch” today, just being silly. I told him in no uncertain terms that if he was going to call me Mitch, i would start calling him Robin (his name is Rob). He said he wouldn’t call me Mitch again.