Even though I’d attended my proudly multicultural school for years, they cut up my name. It was bad enough leaving class during exam season to come to a hospital appointment. The name was the icing on the cake. "But they can't do that," my mother says as I swing my legs in the waiting room. "Mejía is first. If they're going to shorten it, it would make more sense to call you Courtney Mejía." "Yeah." But that's not my name either. "Courtney Murphy!" calls the secretary. My mother looks scandalized. I give her a tired smile before I head inside.
Courtney Mejía-Murphy is an artist and storyteller in various forms. Find Courtney at somewherewithstories.itch.io and on Twitter @astorysomewhere.