Michelle vs. Michele

If you already know me, you know how silly I am. But most people describe me as crazy, nuts, or loquita. But it’s okay. I take it as a compliment. For everyone else who doesn’t know me, you will. Let’s start with my name. My real name is Michele with one L. But when I was a Sophomore in Memorial High School, in West New York, NJ, I decided to do a little experiment. It all started in my Math class. I was taking a test and decided to write my name with 2 L’s (Michelle) because I wanted to see if my teacher would notice, but she didn’t. Then I did the same thing in my History class, but he didn’t notice, either. So, I thought my English teacher would definitely notice…she didn’t. I thought to myself: What the hell! I tested all of my teachers and nobody questioned me. How can they not see the mistake? I even got my High School diploma with my fake name. I went to the extreme on getting my drivers license, college diploma, passport, social security, and everything else with MicheLLe. After that, there was no turning back. To make matters worse, or to the extreme, after I became a journalist, my experimental name has been published in a magazine, newspaper, and on websites. At one point, during my early 30s, I tried to go back to MicheLe but I couldn’t. My hand is so accustomed to it that I automatically write double L’s. Plus, I’m even convinced that my name has 2 L’s. My birth certificate is the only existing document with my real name. But I wonder if I get married and sign the wedding certificate as Michelle with two L’s… Would I really be married? I know it’s a stupid question, but then again, I’m the brainiac who decided to do a little “experiment”. Today, 20 years later, I realize that it was a dumb experiment. But, I found out that I’m the only idiot on earth who would actually add extra letter to their name for no good reason. Yep, that’s me, Michelle. Not Michele. Michelle