Dakota Writing Project

Sorry--had to re-post because my original post made my blogger all jacked up. Thanks for your comments!

My Name (taken from Sandra Cisneros)

My name is Melinda, and I am one half of a twin, so together, we are Melinda and Miranda. One of my aunts wanted us to be Megan and Morgan, but my father refused, saying, “they are not a team of horses.” Our nicknames were supposed to be Mindy and Mandy, but when my sister and I were two, we began to call each Lindy and Randy, and so that is who I am. Lindy. No one calls me Melinda. I have never, ever, heard my father call me Melinda, and my mother will call me Melindy lots. I like “Lindy.” Many times, I am the first “Lindy” for people and this makes me feel good, but territorial, too, and I want to be the only Lindy.

My middle name is Ann, and that is taken from my mother. I look just like her. One year, during the Catholic Daughter’s Annual Farmer Hats and Soup Dinner, I am cleaning off tables and refilling bowls of knoephla soup, and a woman I don't recognize is staring at me. I am fifteen, and blush easily, but I smile at her as I pass. She tugs the arm of my t-shirt and asks, “are you Robbie's daughter?” And I say, “yes.” And before she can say anything else, I say, “I know, I know.”

As I get older and more into a career, I often think I should go with the more formal Melinda. But, I sing karaoke loudly and badly and throw little boys into the air and ride my bike all over town, and I don’t think a Melinda does those things.