My Name is Moon Sun

By chance, I saw this commercial on TV for the first time a few weeks ago, and it struck a chord with me.

Moon Sun was the name my parents gave me when I was born, but when we immigrated to the US, my sisters and I were immediately told that we needed to have an American name, and in a matter of minutes, I became Melissa per my uncle. Initially, I dreaded when anyone asked for my name because I couldn't pronounce it correctly. In school, I remember wondering why my teacher kept calling my name out over and over again during a history lesson, only to learn later that she was actually saying "militia".

Over the years, I learned to pronounce Melissa and have embraced it as my name. But it was also my very first lesson on being different and having to adapt and accommodate to be accepted. I hope times have changed enough so that no one feels compelled to abandon her name just to belong. I know that a part of me was lost when I lost Moon Sun as my name.

#asianamericanwomen #identityjourney #embracingdifferences #belonging