Name Change

My students are resilient. I see them face struggles that no teenager should have to face, but I have seen my kiddos bounce back quickly. It's one of the many things I love about my students.

But I tell you what, my students are not taking my upcoming name change very well. With 30 days until the best day of my life, my students have become very obsessed with my new name. It just hit them this week, for the most part, that I will no longer be Nichols.

It started like this: "What's your new name going to be?"

"Martinez."

"Hahaha, that's funny. You don't look like a Martinez, with your blonde hair and blue eyes."

"I know, right? It will be weird for both you and me calling me Martinez instead of Nichols."

"Wait, what? You're changing your name at school???"

"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, I did think about staying Nichols just because everyone knows me by that, but I'm sure I'll change eventually."

"But, you can't change your name. You're Ms. N. What will happen in a few years when we're talking to someone about Ms. N, our former English teacher, and they have no idea who we're talking about because they will know you as Mrs. Martinez?"

"That will be weird, huh?"

And then one student, a Hispanic student, started saying my name with a Spanish accent and everyone was cracking up.

One student says, "I'm just going to start calling you Mrs. Martinez right now so we both get used to it." I chuckled and continued on with class (we actually do learn in my class, despite fun conversations like this).

As the bell rang and my students departed for the day, I yelled out for them to have a good afternoon. One students yelled back, "Bye Mrs. Martinez."

And then again today, another student called me Mrs. Martinez.

Perhaps they are more resilient than I first thought!

Thirty more days of being Ms. Nichols.

Thirty more days until I'm Mrs. Martinez!!!