A Strange Last Name

     I, too, am one of the oh-so-special people with an odd name. My name is Dirk. I am not sure why or how my parents came up with it, but it sure has gotten to me, especially on the first days of school when the teachers try to pronounce it.

When I was younger I hated it so much and was embarrassed to tell people for fear of laughter or the jokes like “Dirk the Jerk” or “Dirt?” or some crazy pronunciation that isn’t even spellable. But I am just Dirk, and happy now to be one of a kind.