When we enter the world our parents give us a name. Sometimes a name is passed down through many generations, sometimes a name is a memorial to someone who has passed away, and sometimes a name is just something different. Parents do their best (in most cases) to give their children a name that people can pronounce. They also try to give their child a name that won't get their child ridiculed for the rest of their life.

My name is Dara. My mother had a cousin named Daralynn. She loved the name and she wanted her first daughter to be named Dara. Daralynn passed away in a car accident, so the name became even more special. I was 10 when I met the brother of my namesake. Needless to say, the experience was rather awkward.

I'm sure that when my parents named me they would have never dreamed that so many people would have trouble pronouncing such a simple name. Dara, you say it just like Sara. I don't often hear people mispronounce Sara, but my name is mispronounced on a daily basis. I mean, my parents have easy names: Jane and Fred. This was surely new territory.

So, how do I deal with this? Well, when I was little I wanted so badly to change my name to something like Jennifer or Jessica. In school I would correct the same teacher everyday. Everyday she still got my name wrong. I got to the point that on the first day of school I would set in my seat prepared to correct the teacher when they said my name wrong. In the beginning I was mad. I could not understand why people couldn't say my name right. its so easy. However, as I got older I learned to roll with the punches. Now I'll answer to anything close. Some of the people I work with get my name wrong on a daily basis. When I introduce myself to a new boss or coworker I make sure I tell them "It's Dara, like Sara." That seems to help.

Over time I've adopted the philosophy of "You can call me whatever you want, just don't call me late to dinner".