It all started with my name

My name is Anike. It's pronounced like Aunikeh or kind of like Hanukkah, in fact that's what I tell people.

"My name is Anike, It rhymes with Hanukkah!"

"(LOL) huh, how do you spell it?"

"A. N. I. K. E."

"Oh so the 'E' is pronounced like an 'A'"

"No, it's pronounced like an 'E'"

Then they react with a small, failed attempt at discreetness, roll of their eyes. Look people, I think I know how to spell my name and pronounce it. I have been Anike for a couple of years now, I think I got down.

"It's Dutch!"

"Oh, from like Germany?"

"No... from 'like' Holland a.k.a. the Netherlands"

"...Neverland?"

"Yes, I am from Neverland. And I am actually 437 years old this August but I just 'don't want to grow up.'"

OK that is a little exaggerated but people really are dumb.

"So can you speak Dutch?"

"No, I know a little German though... Ich spreche ein bisschen deutsch."

"Yeah, Dutch... same thing."

"No... they are two different languages not to mention countries."

Then they, again, react with a small, failed attempt at discreetness, roll of their eyes.... You're right. I have no idea what I am talking about. I only lived in Germany for seven years but Dutch and Deutsch are the same.

Growing up with this name has been great and entertaining. In school especially during roll call.

Teacher: "Jake Nelson, John Newbold, Sarah Pratt, Jessica Puckett, Randy Porter.... ............ A........ On..... On NIKE.... Ann.... AnEkee? miss... miss.. Pullens?.... uhNiKE?

Me: interrupting before this goes to far... "It's Anike."

Teacher: "Oh like Monica?"

Me: "sure."

My favorite mispronunciation was Anakin. Yes, My parents DID name me after a Star Wars character but without an 'N' on the end. It's like when you have an existing letter thats silent except my name has an extra, not silent, consonant at the end and it's invisible.

I don't think my name is THAT unusual. But my experiences and encounters with people beg to differ. I went through this strange phase in middle school... don't we all? Well, one time in the girls bathroom, I was wearing a dark, grayish, purplish, corduroy outfit... with a chain on the side.... and a couple of girls looked at me and asked, "are you goth or something?" I just replied with, "No, just Anike."

They reacted, of course, with a small, failed attempt at discreetness, roll of their eyes. But walked out talking quietly to each other. "What's ONikeh?"

I didn't mind the nicknames like Nike, A-NIke, Nikus, Nikes, or On and Onie. In fact I loved it because it brought attention to me and made me different. When I was real young I would write letters to my mom and sign my name A (and the NIKE symbol) Swoosh. I thought that made it faster and easier to spell my name for someone. Not really.

"How do you spell that?"

"A-Nike"

Then they write A. N. I. K.... "A?"

"No... 'E'... A-Nike....? Like the shoe...?"

"what? How?"

"Ok... a. n. i. k. E."

"Ann IKE?"

"yep...ok bye!"

When I met my friend Tanner, he found out my name was spelt A-NIKE, and decided to call me Adidas. He is still the only person to ever come up with that nickname... I haven't decided if I like it yet... I don't even wear anything Adidas... I am a true NIKE fan. It just suits me I think.

I have had many other nicknames, like giggles, white girl, white chocolate, German, Nazi... but we will get into that another day.