by Jhani S. ’16 (Thomas Jefferson ’22)
Nona, my dad’s mother, died two years ago. The thought of her dying made my head spin. Since then, I have a blank page in my head. Yet many aspects of her I remember: her cooking, her laughter, her appearance and even her favorite animal, a jaguar. But most especially I remember her nickname for me, KING.
This I believe: nicknames express who you truly are on the inside. The person who gives you a nickname does it out of love.
My Nona, always used to call me, “King” and I would feel appreciated. Nobody else in the world could tell me I was a king. When I misbehaved or got very upset, even in her stern tone, she would tell me, “No matter what, you’re still my king.” To this day I think about her words. A “King” is a respected man who can change the horrible nonsense going on in the world.
My nickname for my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Alvater, is Darth Vader. I don’t need to explain that. And my nickname for Mr. Speed, our student teacher, is Piggie because he always eats junk food and hides it from us. They call me Knucklehead, I know they don’t say it to hurt me. These names come out of friendship.
Whatever my nickname will be at Thomas Jefferson, I will always remember Knucklehead. But most importantly, I will always remember my Nona’s name for me, King.
Jhani with Don Danforth and Ray Speed
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