14-year-old with Polish first name tired of friends, teachers not even trying to pronounce it

By Abigail Van Buren

DEAR ABBY: I am a 14-year-old first-generation Polish American with a very Polish family. I don’t have a lot of issues, but I just changed schools, and nobody cares enough to learn how to pronounce my name, including the teachers.

I was named after a family member and the name has a lot of history, so my parents don’t want to Americanize it. But correcting people with no results is getting tiring. What started as a small issue now has me feeling split between my Polish and American identities.

Is it worth it to disappoint my parents to make it a little easier?

— AGNIESZKA IN NEW JERSEY

https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2024/05/dear-abby-14-year-old-with-polish-first-name-tired-of-friends-teachers-not-even-trying-to-pronounce-it.html