Prithika's piece

My father came home with a box one day in 2008. I was six. My mom and I didn’t take much notice of it at the time, but he unwrapped it and started to set it up. When he was done, he called me over to proudly show what he had bought. It was a gaming console. It was a shiny white rectangle connected to our TV and had two matching wireless controllers. I was impressed. I asked him what it was; He called it a “Nintendo Wii.” We turned that bad boy on and started setting it up. We went through the works: names, WiFi connection, parental controls, making a Mii, all that jazz. At this point, I was ready to see what kind of games I could play, more importantly, what kind of games I could beat my dad at. I couldn’t wait. He pulled out a CD box with the words “Mario Kart Wii” written on them and there were two guys, one wearing red and one wearing green. They were both holding steering wheels. My dad put the CD in while I could barely contain my excitement.  We sat side by side on th...

My name. Prithika Ravi. Growing up surrounded by Sarahs, Taylors, Graces, and Ryans, I remember being around 7 or 8 and wondering why at the beginning of the year teachers would pause and look confused when it came time to say my name. I remember feeling like there was some sort of distinction between  me and Sarah or Jack-- like there was a spotlight on me. They apologized for not knowing how to pronounce it and I showed them. Pri-thi-ka , just like it’s spelled, I said patiently. They told me it was a pretty name. I tried to believe them, wondering if having a “pretty” name was worth the unwanted attention. By 5th grade, it was routine. Every time the school year started, if they stopped and looked confused during attendance, it was probably my fault. By that time, I had gotten everything from Pritheeka to Patricia. But this wasn’t their fault, they were just not accustomed to having a student with a name like mine. I was unique. That’s what I told myself. When it c...