A photo posted by Kim Werker (@kpwerker) on

A confession.

I have never particularly liked my name.

I mean, it’s a totally okay name, I guess. Kim.

But I’ve never really identified with it. I never seemed to myself to be a Kim.

(It’s not that I wanted my name to be Kimberly instead. I don’t think I’m much of a Kimberly, either.)

I always used to love it when people just called me Piper. Kids at camp called me Piper. One summer when I was a camp counselor, I introduced myself to my campers as Piper, so everyone called me that all summer long. Then I got married, and I do enjoy it when people call me Werker, but let’s be honest, Piper has more character.

Every month, I co-host a drop-in art and craft social at Hot Art Wet City with my friend Rachael. Chris, the owner of the gallery, always has mugs out next to a water jug, and there’s this one mug that I just immediately fell in love with. Rita.

At last’s night’s social, Rachael offered to grab me water in the Rita mug. She knew. Such is my love for that mug.

When I was a kid, I used to want to write stories about a tomboy named Sam or Charlie. But even then I was aware of how utterly clichéd that was. Also, I wanted those stories to be about me. I wanted my own name to be Sam or Charlie.

Now I’m just thinking Rita is obviously my alter ego.

Obviously.

I have absolutely no point other than to share this with you.

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Vashtirama

I felt the same way about my perfectly nice pre-Vashti name, so I went with a name I could groove to.

Shalagh Hogan

I saw Piper up on the screen above your head at the talk in DC and thought, “how cool is that?” I vote you go ahead and just start getting everyone to call you Piper. I knew a Maggie who called herself Margaret and then Jupiter.
Is it Ok to decide to change your name mid stream?

Tara Swiger

In my head you are Kim Piper. I refer to you as Kim Piper when telling Jay about something you wrote :)
I ALWAYS wanted to be a Sam too (or my middle name: Elizabeth, actually Liz or Eliza)..but now I’m kinda at peace with Tara. It’s weird enough to suit me and as long as I don’t feel shy about correcting someone’s pronunciation (it’s TARa, not T-air-a), I can almost love it.

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