This is me. I’ve lived in England since the day I was born. I speak English (The British version , thank as you probably could have guessed). I look like I’m 100% Thai. And my first name is Dimitri. Ever since I’ve realized where I’ve come from, I have loathed my name. It really doesn’t fit me very well. The attention I get is so annoying. And oh…The questions…Don’t get me started on those. They bother me. You see, when people meet me, they always look at me funny. They say,
“Isn’t Dimitri a Russian name?”
And I always answer,
“Yeah, it is. I’m half Russian,”
But I don’t look like it. My mom is Russian, but my dad is Thai. Apparently, I got more of my dad’s genes. I remember when we went to Thailand. Ugh. People would try to speak to me in Thai. And then my name would cause I lot of confusion. It was terribly mortifying. I was made fun of because I couldn’t speak my “native tongue” (EVEN THOUGH IT ISN’T!). Dad just laughed and spoke in Thai so I had no clue about what he was saying. More laughter. It didn’t take too much thought to figure out what was so comical. Me. Mom laughed along, too, even though she had no knowledge of that Thai language. I bet dad had told her earlier. So no matter what, I was laughed at. Not only the laughter in Thailand, oh no, but at school, too.
“Dimitri this, Dimitri that…” BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. I swear if I hear any talk about my parents’ naming choices, as much as I dislike the outcome of it, I will go psycho. And when I get sent to the principle’s office, they’ll comment on my name. And then I’ll get suspended for punching the guy. And then I’ll say,
“Thanks, Mom and Dad, I really appreciate this…”