"Just Jessi." For the millionth time.

To contact us Click HERE
My name is Jessi Haish.
It's that simple.
Yet people always find it so difficult to call me just that. They could be standing at the front of a classroom reading off attendance, see "Jessi Haish" on their sheet of paper and say "Jessica." I don't get it. My name is right in front of you, and it takes less effort to say what's right there. Why add the extra letters?

My full name is Jessi. "Just Jessi," I've been telling people all my life when they call me Jessica or ask why I don't go by Jessica. I didn't make the decision to be "Just Jessi," my parents did. I can tell people tens of times that my name is Jessi and yet they will continue to mix it up. Why? If your name is Bob I don't call you Bill just because. It's called respect. You learn someone's name and you call her just that. Same goes for the spelling of my name. If you're Facebook friends with me or have known me for longer than a week, learn to spell my first name. It's five letters; it shouldn't be that difficult. Am I really asking that much?

I remember in middle school a girl called me Jessica and I told her that it's "just Jessi." She rolled her eyes and exclaimed that it wasn't, that I was lying. First of all, what a weird thing to lie about! Yep, I lied about my name just for fun, because I have nothing better to do. But it gets better. In the dramatic way that middle schoolers handle things, she demanded that I bring my birth certificate to school the next day to "prove" to her that my name was just Jessi because she really didn't believe me. Needless to say I didn't, but an argument ensued. Then she glared at me from the other end of the chorus the rest of the class. There I was, singing soprano and wondering why this girl had such a problem with my name.

I'm almost 22 now and I'm still trying to figure out why people can't get my name right. If my nametag, attendance sheet, or homework says Jessi, call me that. If I introduce myself as Jessi, which I always do, call me that. Don't add on extra letters to my name, you're only wasting your time. And if you don't call me by my name, I may accidentally forget yours too.