Stuff That Matters In Life

I did not like growing up with a last name that no one can pronounce correctly on the first try. In a 99% white neighborhood, the Chinese surname Leung was strange. I was tired of having to explain it, spell it, correct it and still, the sound apparently does not exist in the English language. We’ve been called “Lung”, “Le-ung”, “Long”, “Loong”, and various other versions. My cousin officially had his last name changed to Long. My brother, who has to live with the name his whole life, tells people that it sounds like “learn”. But not exactly. It’s “learn” but replacing the ‘n’ with a ‘g’. And that is not exactly right either. You have to curl your tongue a little while saying ‘learg’. If you don’t get it, I don’t want to explain it anymore!

Was I ever relieved to marry Mike LEE! I couldn’t have picked a better guy with a better name. I can just say Lee and people actually get it without me having to spell it for them. Imagine how simple it made my life, and how much time I saved over my lifetime.
I felt sorry for my sister-in-law when she married my brother. I asked if she planned on keeping her maiden name so it would be easier.

“Oh, NO!” she said. “I’ve been wanting a different last name.”

Her last name, Davis, is too common, she said. It’s not exciting; it’s not a conversation piece. The name Leung is much more interesting, so unique. It’s so…exotic, she says.
I had never, ever, in a million years ever thought of it that way.