As I type this a squiggly red line appears under both my last and first name because Microsoft Word 2003 disagrees with the spelling. I have yet to go through a year of school in which a teacher doesn’t misspell it and I don’t expect this one to be different.

This may be annoying to some but you have grown used to it. People are always asking me if I’m related to ‘Hulk’ Hogan even though the names aren’t spelled the same. It’s normal for people to spell my first and last name incorrectly. Once my name was mispronounced at a competition in which the announcer thought I was a girl because there was a mistake on his sheet. He called me Briana…still not really sure how that happened, since I was ten feet away from him…

My name is misspelled because it is uncommon. Brennen with E’s at the end, not A’s. I’ve never seen anyone else with the same first name spelled the way mine is and only once or twice have I seen someone with my last name spelled the way it is.
My grandfather wanted my dad to name me after him. George. My dad didn’t want that because it is such an old-fashioned name. He wanted something that would set me apart. My mom hoped people would call me BJ since my middle name is James. I’m glad no one does.

In fact I like my name. However it’s spelled. It may be a bunch of random symbols that represent letters and sounds we make to communicate, but they are my random symbols and my vocal patterns. When I hear my name or see it in a list or on a sheet of accomplishments I can say “Hey! That’s me! Look what I did. I worked hard and now it pays off.”
It is part of me whether it is misspelled, mispronounced, underlined by Microsoft Word, or destroyed by a gender-confused announcer.