What's in a name?

For most of my life I've hated my last name. Reitmeyer is German so it sounds choppy and I don't like the flow of it. Also the "ei" part confuses people. In English, "ei" can sound like an "e" like in "receive" although it sometimes sounds like an "i" like in "heist" or like an "a" in "weigh." Because of this, people have been butchering it for as long as I can remember. It is pronounced Right-my-er not Rit-my-er, Reet-my-er, or Re-it-mir.

That part I'm used to at this point. The part that makes me cringe to this day are the intentional modifications used to mock me in school. My P.E. teacher in elementary called me Wrongmeyer because I was/am terrible at all things athletic. And since a teacher made it up to taunt me, all of the other kids thought it was hilarious to follow her lead. In middle school (7th or 8th grade?) one of my classes had a substitute teacher. He was taking attendance and had difficulty pronouncing my name and decided to call my Rottweiler instead. Although he was only there torment me for one day, the rest of the kids remembered and continued to call me that well after he was gone. Kids can be so cruel, especially when adults teach them to be cruel. 

Several years ago, my Dad started his own technology consulting business which he named Reit Consulting, although the second part has since been changed to Technologies. My sister, a realtor for less than a year, also used it for branding herself as in, "We'll find you the Reit Home." I've also sort of grown fond of and adopted the "Reit" brand. I may never start my own business or use it in an official capacity but I've considered making it my middle name if I ever get married and take a new last name. 

To What End?

The In Crowd, or Fear and Loathing in Library Land
I've definitely become aware of the "secret society in the library profession" since I started working in library-land. In fact, it's one of the reason I decided to stick with this job and pursue this profession. The appreciation of my local community or co-workers is not enough for me. I know that it should be but (almost) no one here seems to care as much about the big picture. I want to be part of the group of motivated librarians that help shape the image of the "library" and what it represents to people.

Valerie's post is a good reminder that I have plenty of work to do at the local level, and that work will earn me the support I need at a higher level, even if I never keynote a conference or win a national award. For now I'm just going to keep listening and work on my degree because I'm sure I'll have plenty of time for all that other stuff later.