MISPRONUNCIATIONS As a young girl I wondered why my parents decided to spell my name in an unusual manner. My mother told me it was a French spelling. To me, it only spelled trouble. My name is Annettee, pronounced Annett. The e's at the end are silent. The typical spelling is Annette with one e at the end. But mine was different -- it included two e's at the end. I felt frustrated because people always left off the second e or they told me my name was misspelled. I longed for a more simplistic name like Carol or Amy. But this was what I was given. Over twenty years ago, when I was in nursing school, a good friend of mine started calling me Annettee' -- her emphasis was put on the e's at the end. Now people were not only spelling my name incorrectly but pronouncing it incorrectly. As our graduation day was approaching, she started to tease me that they would announce me as Annettee' just as she did. I would cringe inside each time this was even suggested. Finally graduation was here. It was filled with excitement and activity. In the morning was a pinning ceremony for the nurses and, in the afternoon, were graduation festivities which involved the graduating class for the whole college. The pinning ceremony was so meaningful. It was our first opportunity to dress as an official nurse. No more student uniforms. We were called to the stage dressed like angels of mercy, in white from head to toe -- from our white shoes to our nursing caps. As they called each of our names, we received our nursing pins. To my relief, my name was pronounced correctly. The day would go off without a glitch. So I thought. The graduation ceremony was still ahead. As I entered the auditorium for our graduation, it was filled with a sea of blue caps and gowns, and unfamiliar faces. We sat in alphabetical order until it was our turn to approach the stage. The moment had arrived. My name was next on the list. I heard them call -- "Annettee' Ford". I couldn't believe my ears. My friend cursed me with that name. But I walked on the stage with pride. I knew my friend was sitting in her seat roaring with laughter that they called me her pet name. But at that moment I made a choice. I was not going to let this spoil my day or my life ANYMORE. God tells us we can choose blessings or curses. I chose to see the beauty in my name. I would no longer be embarrassed by its mispronunciations or misspellings. What happened this day was more than my graduation from nursing school or college. I graduated to see, that with my unusual name, I had truly been blessed and not cursed. -- Annettee Budzban .·:*´¨`*:·..·:*´¨`*:·. *: * Richiele * * *·. .·* `*·-:¦:-*´ ³´`*:»§«:*´`³