Admittedly, I have a strange name. I've given up from junior high days to try to get people to pronounce my first name exactly the way it's supposed to be. It's slightly Anglicized (with diphthong) so that it's easier to pronounce.
When my parents got their U.S. citizenship, I had a choice (as a minor) to become naturalized with a different first name. I thought about it for a while. It seemed cool to be able to choose my name as a teenager. But then, at the end of the day, I decided to keep my name just as it is -- my given Korean name without an English name. Why? Because it's the name my dad had thoughtfully picked for me while he was working abroad at a cargo ship. He broke the Korean naming protocol to pick a name that sounds pretty (in Korean) and has a good meaning (to know grace or gratitude). Besides all of that, I realized I couldn't pick anything else as unique as my name.
But apparently, this politician thinks Asian names should be banned, and Asian Americans should change their names. What's up with that? I wonder if she emigrated to say, China, if she would so easily give up her own name and adopt a Chinese name.
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