Why Getting My Name Right Matters

DIFERENTE

#154 - Do you think your parents gave you a specific name so that you could be called something else? Something that doesn't really sound like your name, but it makes people comfortable, it's easier this way.

I know my parents named me Maribel (Mah-REE-bel). That was always my name, until we moved to the U.S., and one day my dad picked up a call from someone wanting to know if MaryBell was home. My name would not return until the last quarter of my senior year in college, when I finally realized I had been trying so hard to fit in for so many years, that I had forgotten who I really was.

Fast forward to now, I'm still struggling to correct people when they mispronounce my name. So I brought this episode back from season one, where my friend Tareya Palmer joins in to chat about one of the biggest things we have in common, people never know how to pronounce our names, and why "Justice" is more than just a word to her. Connect with Tareya on Instagram @_Thesociallight.

JOIN ME ON INSTAGRAM or TWITTER: @Maribel_QS. And learn more about me at maribelqs.com

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Latina media producer and curiosity expert Maribel Quezada Smith brings you the bilingual podcast, DIFERENTE. Where we celebrate and explore the complexities of living life between two (or more) cultures. Learn, grow and be inspired by stories and interviews about cultural identity, questioning the norm, and becoming empowered, among other topics that relate to the bicultural experience.

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EPISODE CREDITS

Producer, Maribel Quezada Smith

Editor: Dimitrios Mylis

Diferente theme music by Andres Sierra