Kathryn/Kay

Just before sixth grade, I started going by Kay.

Recently I started thinking about going back to Kathryn. I thought about how much trouble some people went to, like my parents, to make "Kay" a habit, and how it might be really annoying if I "change my mind" about it. Then again, maybe they'd like it.

I also thought about how everyone who's met me since (most of the people I know who aren't family) only knows me as Kay.

I kept it in the back of my mind for a bit and then in Eugene I spontaneously introduced myself to some housemates of a friend as Kathryn. That's also how I've introduced myself to my new roommate.

My final conclusion is it just makes sense to go by both names. Lots of people use their formal name often and also have a nickname. So anyone who might like to start calling me Kathryn again, it's on the table. But no pressure to go to any trouble re-learning (newly learning, for some) the habit.

(If this elicits laughter, you're really laughing at my 11-year-old self... so I don't really care. I've got eight years of improved sanity on her.)