At least get the name right.

So many times, every day, all day, anywhere, your name is mispronounced. There is no cure for this common sickness. Unless your name is Bob Smith, then you can stop reading this post.

It all started in PreSchool. Well, maybe not PreSchool, it started earlier than that.

It all started when we were born. But I started to notice as I got older. It would happen the most when our classes would have substitute teachers and there would be seconds of silence and then they would say, “Okay I’m sorry if I get this wrong, Elisa? Eleus? Elieus?”  The class would then blurt out “Elias!”.

I remember the first day of school when I would be waiting to correct the teacher as they would say my name. That feeling went away around freshman year. It didn’t bother me anymore that someone would get my name wrong. Except for this one time when someone thought my name was Tobias. Not even close.

I think my name has gotten around a lot more because I’ve been correcting people less and less. This is because of  all the hipster parents naming their babies Levi, Jett, Lennon, or Thelonious; yes, Thelonious. Or maybe it’s because I look so white, no one would call me Elias, as if I were a true Hispanic. Although I am, I’m not so true to it.

It’s even worse when the person can never get it right. For example, I’ve been running almost every 5k, 10k, and everything that ends in K and M in Austin ever since I was 3. Even numerous cycling events. There’s only one man who get to talk on the mic all day and he’s been doing it since 1992 and still hasn’t gotten my name right. I’ve even had to correct him as I crossed the finish line once. Robert “Evil” Evilsizer has only one job and can’t even do it. Even last Sunday at the Schlotzsky’s Bun Run, he said “2098: Elisa Huerta... Elisa?”. I laughed and finished. No big deal, he’ll never get it.

Anyway, you'll just have to deal with it for the rest of your life. It's not that big of a deal, but it's something. Even last names that people can't pronounce make you sorta cool. It's like the people who can pronounce your name are a part of this exclusive club that no one else is in.  Cool clubs are cool. Even when they're not real.