Christina Wu

My name was chosen for its function and meaning. If I was a boy, my name would’ve been Chris. Since I’m a girl, my name is Christina. Also, my dad is a devout Christian, so he was attracted to the fact my name means “follower of Christ.”

I used to go to the local Chinese community’s church when I was young, but my family eventually stopped going because of pretty petty fights on who would become the new pastor. So yes, I identify as Christian and follow the basic moral rules and values. However, I don’t publicly advertise the fact. My name kind of does it for me.

Through elementary school to middle school, I’ve almost always been called by my full name. Occasionally the girls in my class wanted to give each other nicknames, yet they oddly thought of “Chris-Chris.” Thankfully, the name only stuck for about a week before all the girls realized it just wasn’t a good nickname.

I always thought my name would naturally transition to Tina. From William to Bill, from Gerald to Jerry, my two older brothers only go by their nicknames. Yet, my nickname, Tina, was only used in times of convenience. For a long time, only family members and my parent’s friends who weren’t native English speakers used Tina because they usually had trouble pronouncing “Chris” (It would end up sounding like “KerWriss”- Tina).

Things slowly started to shift when I came to Uni. I participated in sports, but so did Kristine Wang. Having two people whose names both start with the “Chris” sound and were both in the same grade made it hard to communicate in the middle of a fast-paced game. So, I advertised the use of Tina. The nickname stuck, but only during sports. Tina Wayne, who graduated last year, still roamed the school hallways. Her full name was Crystina Wayne, but she had established herself as Tina. A couple years prior, there was an actual student named Tina. Now, there’s a sub-freshman who also uses Tina as a substitution for her real name. So, I didn’t push for the nickname. I could possibly go by “Wu,” but then I’ll struggle distinguishing whether a person is calling me or just making an exclamation. There’s truly no escape.

My current situation on my name is complicated. My teammates from sports (specifically the Volleyball team) consistently call me Tina. Mr. Leff has slowly begun picking up the nickname of Tina too. However, I’m still widely known as Christina. My own confusion with my name has led to people having to add descriptors. E.g. “Other Tina,” “the Senior,” or sometimes just “Wu.”

Now the question is what should you, the reader, call me? The decision is yours. I still turn my head around for all forms of the name Christina, Chris, and Tina. There’s no possible way to salvage what’s left of my neck muscles. Just don’t call me “Chris-Chris.” Please don’t, it sounds awful.