I Go By Tonya

I could already hear it in my mind, “Sorry if I mispronounce this, but TOSYZUX Chen.” Every year on first day of school, I expect the same thing in all of my classes. As all the anticipating students reunite with old friends and the teacher tries to register the new faces, the roll gets called and most of the time it’s ignored. But when my impossible name is pronounced, the chit chat seems to stops. “That’s me, umm I just go by Tonya,” I say.

I have mixed feelings about my name. On one hand I don’t really care if I am judged because of it but on the other hand, I sometimes feel embarrassed. People say the first impression is always the most important. With my teachers and classmates, the first impression is always “this girl has a Chinese name”. I eventually outgrow this perception as people seem to forget overtime. But the arrival of a substitute reminds my friends once again. My friend Arjun always greets me with a little smirk and his interpretation of my name. To him, my name sounds like ten-shoe so he proceeds by signaling a 10 with his fingers and then pointing to his shoe. This pretty much defines our friendship. 

Tonya Chen

Staff Writer

Bellaire High School TPP