Michelle=Mishi=Mishelle

December 4, 2009 - 13 Comments by Mishi - Me, Myself, and I, Secret Agent Mama

My parents wanted a son.

They got a daughter.

And when it came time to name their daughter my mother suggested to my father that they name her after his mother.  Her name was Danica, so she offered Daniella, which he vehemently rejected.   The reason being pain—pain can definitely lead one’s decisions.

My parents wanted a son.

They got a daughter.

They flipped open the baby name book and landed on Michael (how’s that for foreshadowing?), and with that they decided to name the baby girl Michelle.   My mom, however, wanted to change it up.  She wanted to use an ‘s’ the way it was spelled in [Macedonian]:  Mišel.  Oh, but how could a young, immigrant, new mother know anything?   The nurse helping my mother with the birth certificate changed the ‘s’ to a ‘c’ and my mother didn’t fight it when the official record came through.

They wanted a son.

They got a daughter.

One day, during my senior year in high school, my mother told me how she had intended for the spelling of my name to be “Mishelle” as opposed to “Michelle”.   That’s all I had to hear.  Because isn’t that the coolest?  I knew plenty of Michelles, but not one, single Mishelle!  I haven’t officially changed my name, but someday I will.

My parents wanted a son.

They got me, and I’m their only.

{as seen on Twitpic}