Last week someone asked if it was Val or Valerie, and I’ll admit, it also got me thinking. But not before I told him that if I signed an email with Valerie – it implies I’m unhappy with you, HA! For the longest time though I had gone by Valerie, but somewhere in grade 6, in an effort to appear cool and effortless, I started going by Val (as in, gal pal val pal, my bowler tag). To me, Val feels more sincere, more familiar. Whereas Valerie feels like a distant stranger. Of course when written and asserting dominance – the latter always performs well (note the blog password and URL).
I wonder if part of this is because of how western the name Valerie is, sounding nothing like my Chinese name Wing Sze (pronounced Wing C), in which I relate more to. I supposed it presents both a privilege and a slight internal conflict; the struggle it would’ve been to be a fully born Canadian with a ethnic name, versus a relatable, pronounceable, albeit western name that feels distant.
Anyway, just a silly little thought – more to explore for sure. Growing up not Caucasian in a Western country with immigrant parents sometimes results in mild self imposed psychological warfare, but a topic for another time.
Ciao
PS: Cover photo for this post is my name as written by a 10 year old Valerie on the cover of The Girls’ Book of Glamour: A Guide to Being A Goddess