Nicknames

So I was planning on making this space just a space for me to be eloquent and come to amazing conclusions... but that is going out the window for at least this posting.

When I was little... I really really really wanted a nickname. I called Carrie (my older sister) Bubba, because I couldn't say 'sister.' It just sort of ended up sticking. Now I still call my little sister 'Missy-lou,' although I have no idea why. My parents actually called me 'Emikins,' and I still don't know why.

But I wanted a really cool nickname from my really cool friends. It's probably partially because Emily is such a common and pretty much boring name. Even if someone wanted to call me 'Emmie' or 'Em,' usually some other girl already had that as her nickname.

I still think nicknames are a very very cool thing. Names are somewhat personalized, although with the whole Freakonomics study and the craze in baby-naming books, websites, etc, I'm not so sure how much they really truly mean to a person. Parents don't necessarily use the naming process as a time to express individuality (well... most parents). But nicknames are entirely spontaneous and deeply personal. They form because of some crazy event or connection between a couple people, and continue until you have no idea why they started. They actually represent something, or they don't represent anything, and that's why they're fun and fabulous.

I have acquired a few random nicknames throughout high school and college. Justin Parks dubbed me 'Liz' because he thought my middle name was Elizabeth for a long time. This is probably because Julie, Beth, and I convinced him that it was... but whatever. For as long as I can remember Ben has called me 'Emiliii,' although I'm not really sure where that one came from. Boyfriends have called me various things, some I will not mention, but Charlie called me 'Pinky' for a while, and I obviously liked that one.

For now, Lindsey ('Loubird') definitely calls me 'Em,' but in a way that is not boring... mostly in a loud and excited-to-see-me tone. Kareemah calls me 'Shimmer,' either for my love of shimmer lotion or my love of shimmy-ing in the cabaret. Nick Harper still calls me 'Em-Bag-star,' and that makes me smile because it's highly ridiculous.

It takes a certain kind of relationship with a person and spontaneity to develop nicknames, and I think that is absolutely fabulous. I think nicknames are incredibly useful and incredibly fun, and random ones should be used often and always.