Quarantine Journals - Day 7

So I am back in Canada but have to sustain self-quarantine in a hotel for 14 days. That being said, what a great day to start a daily journal. I signed up to Isolation Journals where everyday it sends out a journal prompt. I decided to give it a try and I am writing these not in any order that was sent to me but based on random.

Prompt: Write an ode to your name. Reflect on how it sounds and makes you feel. What it means, where it came from and if there’s a story behind how you got it. How has it informed who you’ve become?

Willie. Yes I am a verified 20-something woman. I think my name has brought a lot of question marks when people see me in person. Even during work occasions, because of exclusively communicating through email, I have colleagues still refer to me as ‘he’ or William. Do I hate it? Well, when I was younger I felt frustrated. Maybe because it was used as a form of bullying and as a young child you constantly want to feel like you belong to a pre-defined identity (such as you’re popular) but as I grew older I realize my name gave me an advantage. It is memorable because not many people has this name, let alone a woman. Fortunately, and also unfortunately, my name has given me some weird advantages in my professional endeavour. For example, I noticed if I write an email I can be simple and direct and people will respond accordingly. Meanwhile, when people realize I am a woman, I cannot be as candid with my response as it often follows with more questioning of my messages than answering my messages. These micro-sexism in the workplace has given my name certain advantages but I truly wish one day I don’t see such differences any more.

What is the origin? There is no real story behind it. My Chinese name is very masculine as well (it went well with my boy hair-cut, and I was often mistaken as a boy). When I came to Canada, I had to find an English name because there is no way for English speakers can pronounce my Chinese name correctly. Therefore there was a list, and I picked Willie from it. Nowadays, I would guess the list was from like the 50s because I would not call ‘Willie’ as a popular name during the 2000’s. When people ask me the origin story, this is it. There is nothing too special to it. My Chinese name though … there are a bit more story behind it.