I am Magdalena

Ever since I began my educational career in preschool, I was known as Maggie to everyone – my teachers, friends, and pretty much anyone who would look at my real first name with a perplexed expression. Only my family members called me Magda or some endearing variation of it whether it was Madzia or Magdusia, etc. Since I started college in September, I have been trying to get everyone to call me either Magda or Magdalena. I suppose it’s because I am in the phase of my where I am creating an adult identity and attempting to find myself in a mass of confusion. “Maggie” just sounds so juvenile, overly playful, or a name you would give to a small yippy dog. If I think Maggie is a playful name, then you must assume that by going by Magda, I want to be taken as a serious person. That is absolutely not the case. I feel more comfortable with Magdalena. It is the name my parents gave me when I was born, it suits my personality, and after all, I am Polish, so why shouldn’t I go by a Polish name?

It has been tough trying to get people to call me by what I prefer being called. School is not a problem since I introduced myself as Magdalena from the beginning. Work is a different story. Some people make an honest effort to call me Magda or Magdalena. Others take it as some kind of joke and assume that I will forget about it and go back to being Maggie again. I understand that many of my coworkers and managers have known me as Maggie for almost a year, and it’s difficult to call a person something else when they get so used to the original name. Ultimately, is it really that much to ask for when I want to be called by my real name?