Note: slightly edited on 29 August 2018.
If you were to meet me right now, here, in Australia, and ask me what my name was, I’d be most likely giving out this answer:
“I’m Mia.”
But that is, in some sense, a lie. Because my original name is not Mia. It’s Đỗ Dương Minh Anh (yep, the Vietnamese version with all the correct ‘accent marks’). ‘Accent marks’ aside, written in the first name – middle name – last name format, it should be Minh-Anh Duong Do or Minh-Anh Do-Duong. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with Duong Minh Anh Do in all of my translated ID papers, including my uni transcript and my name in the roll call for all of my subjects. Meaning, whoever looking at that would think my name is Duong. It hadn’t really bothered me much, since I requested to add an alternate first name – Mia – to my personal details, and my life became a teeny little easier.
Until today. Continue reading “No, Mia is not my only name.”
