My name is Karin H. Hahn. The H stands for Hasegawa. Except I don’t like Hasegawa. I just like H and that’s all. 

If that line doesn’t sound somewhat familiar, well for one, I’m heavily disappointed, but two, it’s from one of my FAVORITE series, Junie B. Jones.

This line, which opened every single book in the series, will forever be ingrained in my head, for multiple reasons.

One, I’ve read and reread this series numerous times between the first grade and probably the fourth grade, admiring the spunky girl who talked to her stuffed animals and gave herself haircuts with craft scissors.

Second, as a kid, I resonated heavily with Junie B’’s resentment for her middle name.

Growing up, I wanted a middle name like Rose, or Mary, or another one of those basic white-girl middle names that every other girl in my class had. 

Over time though, I’ve grown to like my middle name.

I like the meaning of it—”long valley river.”

I like how it connects me to my heritage, to my mom’s side of the family in Japan.

I like the way Karin Hasegawa-Hahn flows.

I just have to get used to people mispronouncing it. 

I’m betting that it’s going to be mispronounced at graduation. 

I’m looking at you, Mr Floyd.

PC: pinterest