1 out of 8

1 out of 8
Jen(n )

My friend shares my name--kind of. (Remember, 1 in 8 do.) So our whole lives she's always been "Jennifer" to me. That's even when I was still being called "Jenny," and sometimes "Jen." We were the same age, and she emulated almost everything I did. In middle school, I started going by "Jenn"--it was cool and different. So did she. Only this time when I outgrew it and needed another change, "Jenn" kept hers that way.

Granted, I still allow friends and family to call me "Jen" and almost preferred it in college--almost. But the funny thing is she found out several years ago that she is not a Jennifer. She's a Jenifer. But she insists still on spelling her nickname with two "n's. I think it is rebellion against her psycotic mom who left her when she was young. Jenn was learning how to read and spell just after we befriended each other, which was also just after her mom left her and her brother to be raised by their dad, divorcing him and looking for the good life. So there's Jennifer, going to pick up her marriage license and finding out her true name was Jenifer. That's not the time to find out your real identity.