A memory: When I was starting 3rd grade, there were 2 other Karen’s in the class. The teacher asked if 2 of us would prefer going by nicknames. One said that she was Karen…period. The other said she’d go by Kay. I went with Kitty, which is a family nickname for me. The first day of gym, the teacher took all of our names, and I gave mine as Kitty. Fast forward to 6th grade. The other 2 Karen’s seemed to have disappeared (Moved? Different class? I don’t remember); the gym teacher still called me Kitty, which I didn’t mind, but everyone else went back to Karen for me. One day, in gym, another kid called me over, “Hey, Karen!” The gym teacher stopped me: “Karen?” I said, “Yeah?” She said, “Your name is Karen???” Again, me: “Yeah.” Her: “I thought your name was Kitty!!!” Me, “No…just a nickname.” (My art teacher was cooler: even though she went to calling me Karen, she always drew a little kitten face next to all of the papers I turned in.)
A memory: When I was starting 3rd grade, there were 2 other Karen’s in the class. The teacher asked if 2 of us would prefer going by nicknames. One said that she was Karen…period. The other said she’d go by Kay. I went with Kitty, which is a family nickname for me. The first day of gym, the teacher took all of our names, and I gave mine as Kitty. Fast forward to 6th grade. The other 2 Karen’s seemed to have disappeared (Moved? Different class? I don’t remember); the gym teacher still called me Kitty, which I didn’t mind, but everyone else went back to Karen for me. One day, in gym, another kid called me over, “Hey, Karen!” The gym teacher stopped me: “Karen?” I said, “Yeah?” She said, “Your name is Karen???” Again, me: “Yeah.” Her: “I thought your name was Kitty!!!” Me, “No…just a nickname.” (My art teacher was cooler: even though she went to calling me Karen, she always drew a little kitten face next to all of the papers I turned in.)