Hi, my name is Delyn and no, I'm not a guy. If you've ever seen the "Jack Jack Attack" short film from Pixar's "Incredibles," you'll remember Kari, the baby sitter. When introducing herself she says "Kari McCean. It's like Carie but with a 'k' instead of a 'c' and an 'ah' instead of an 'eh' and only one 'r' and an 'I' instead of an 'ie." This is exactly how I feel when I introduce myself. Usually my spiel goes something like this: "Hi, my name is Delyn Bull. Delyn like 'Hellen' only with a 'd' and a 'y' instead of an 'e' and no double 'l.' Oh, and 'Bull' as in the animal."

Yup, my parents sure picked a unique one for me. My younger brother got "John-Clarke," which has never included both the hyphen and the "e" in "Clarke" in a single program of anything my brother has ever been in. Oh well.

Nonetheless, that's my name... and I love it. When people ask me how I got it, I always ask if they want the long version or the short version. If you want the long version, by all means, keep reading. The TLDR version: My parents mixed my paternal great-grandmother's name, Delma, with my mom's middle name, Lynne. Delyn. That's the simple version.

So what's with the title? Well, for some reason, the general public seems to struggle with pronouncing my name correctly. Fun fact, my deaf neighbor knows how to pronounce my name. She asked. She's never even heard me say it, but she knows my name better than most of my teachers. During my life, I have been called the following mispronunciations: "Deli," "Devlyn," "Delanie," (Really? There aren't even that many letters in my name.) "De....Ms. Bull" and of course, "Dylan." This, I have come to understand is the best guess that most people make if not resorting to just calling me by my last name. Maybe you can see where the title comes from now? Dylan is usually a guy's name. Again I say to you, I promise you, just as Eowyn from Lord of the Rings says, "I am no man!" You'd be surprised at the amount of people I've contacted through email who are surprised by the fact that I'm a woman.

One of the most embarrassing moments of my life was when the high school secretary buzzed over the intercom to my math teacher's classroom to say, "Will you tell Dylan Bull that his grandparents will be picking him up today?" I transferred high schools. (But not because of that. It was just a joke... I hope you laughed.)

In the third grade, I was in class with Dylan Ball. Yeah, Dylan Ball and Delyn Bull. It was a confusing time in life.

You get the picture. My name is... different, but hey, so am I.

Juliet once queried "What is in a name?" Well, if you wanted the long version, here's the slightly longer version. My great-grandmother Delma, she was pretty much the most amazing woman that I've never met. She raised nine sons during the Great Depression, my grandfather being the last one born. Her husband died six months before my grandfather was born, so for the most part, she was a single parent. She loved everyone despite the terrible childhood she endured. She was orphaned by the age of two after her stepfather practically murdered her mother. So, yeah, she'd been through it all, yet she was joyful, loving, and all around an amazing person. Unfortunately, she died three days before my family could get me to her. Then my dad let his youth group vote on the pronunciation. And after deciding that he didn't like the original spelling of "Dellyn," Dad decided on just one "L."

So, when I correct people on how to pronounce my name, it's because to me, it's more than just a name. It's my history. My motivation. My... name.

I think that sometimes we take names for granted. I know that I always try to spell names correctly, and pronounce them correctly because I know that's important to me, so why should anyone else's name be different?

So, no, I'm not a guy. My name is NOT "Dylan." I do have a last name (but it's about to change). I'd rather be known by my first name. It is nothing like "Hellen." It's Delyn, and it's nice to meet you.