“Mom, you are a perfect 50-50!”…
…said my daughter this morning to me as we were sitting nursing our colds over a hot cup of cream of wheat.
“Ja, you think?! It very well could be but it wasn’t always like this…” I answered back and it got me rolling with my recount…
1st. I DID NOT LIKE MY NAME: I remember so well, the time, and I feel it happens to many, when I would have prefered another name. I can’t remeber which one but I did resent the X right smack in the middle…That didn’t last long, though
from there it evolved to…
2nd. I DID NOT LIKE EITHER LAST NAMES: I was “Just Alexandra” no relation to anyone… spontaneously appeared on the face of the Earth. I kind of got over that one, kind of, because it turned to
3rd. I DID NOT CARE FOR MY FIRST LAST NAME: which coincided with my parent’s divorce. I’d write my name with an initial in place of my last name… crazy…then that changed to…
3rd. I DID NOT WRITE MY SECOND LAST NAME: that was when I discovered that my cousins (3 boys) where quite popular, so my dad’s last name came in handy… and the initial went to the end…until
4th. I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING MY CORRECT AND COMPLETE NAME, when I was about to finish highschool and had to check and re-check all my documents for graduation and upcoming university enrollment… and the milestone of all milestones for young mexicans:
5th. I HAD TO MAKE MYSELF A SIGNATURE FOR MY VOTING ID. The woman at the government office bluntly said, “the way you sign here will be the way you’ll sign FOR.E.VER. so think it over, and hurry up!!” Aaaaaah, no pressure… Ok, I’m creative, I’m good at doodling, I’m going to Architecture school…make it a good one…abracadabraaaa: I handwrite my complete name with both last names… go creativity!!! epic fail 
Nevertheless, I made peace with my very long name, though I hated, and still have a bit of trouble with my signature UNTIL
6th. I GOT MARRIED AND WAS EXPECTED TO DROP MY LAST NAMES FOR HIS. Now that got me laughing and loving my long and original combo… I won’t change them for anything, unless we become a family of superheroes and have to go into superheroes protection program… jejejee!
Only then, when I could have lost my names did I feel they were more than tags, they were me and I am what my mom and dad made me, so yes I am a perfect 50-50, the rest is just a luxury…
We both laughed…”Well mom, I am at level #3 and I have no idea how long I might be there”… “You’ll be there as long as needed for you to appreciate what it truly means to be his daughter, then you’ll embrace it… of course highschool and important documents are not that far away in your future…whichever comes first…if all else fails, you can wait till you have to fill out and sign your marriage certificate, then you will know who you really are!”
Did you always love your name?
Did you always feel indentified with it?
Did you ever feel you had the face of a Thembisa or a Sovanrithy ?
xo lovely people
ACT. REACT. or just THINK about it! 
Spanish is very phonetic as you already know so I totally get that they’d write your nickname like this 🙂 Not everyone pronounced my X, they mostly do a J sound there, like Mexico in spanish… I love your Meimi 🙂 is it a lot of fuss to change it now? My name sets high expectations for me, it’s like i have to live up to it… I hope in the end i do!! huge hug my friend Mame, read you soon and so happy you stopped by 🙂
I like Mame, which is and has always been a nickname. I have kicked myself many times for not changing legally to it when I got married! I changed my last name, why not the first, too? Ah well, maybe someday. My husband is Spanish, and the way his family spell it is Meimi, which is fun. =)
I think your name is pretty!
i like my abbreviated name better than my full name… GINA DEWAR vs GEORGINA FERNANDA DEWAR…