30 Posts - Day 19

Day 19: Nicknames and why you have them


I have just one nickname, and the only people who (still) use it are the people I went to high school with.

Howie.

Yes, that's right. My nickname is a silly boy's name. You see, my maiden name is Howe, like "How are you?" and people never quite knew how to pronounce it. I got hoe, hoey (like joey), and howie for as long as I could remember. My clever, clever friends came up with things like, "Christina, HOWE are you doing?" or "Christina, HOWE'd you get so cute?". Finally, one genius in particular--pretty sure it was my best friend, though I can't actually remember the first use of Howie as an actual nickname--just started calling me Howie. Before long, it was just my name and it was kinda strange whenever someone actually called me Christina.

Now, here I am 10 years later, and most people from high school still call me Howie. They do throw out the occasional Christina in public settings though, especially amongst people who didn't go to high school with us. I appreciate the nostalgia and endearment that tags along each time I hear it.