My name is Gabrielle, written in long cursive letters with no depth, only found on official government documents or school attendance sheets. But to the rest of the world I am Gabby. Written in big bouncing yellow bubble letters. 

My name is an odd number, 13. Gabby is the sound of children laughing while playing in a jungle gym or running out of school with their friends on the last day. And it tastes like a big swirly rainbow lollipop on a fall evening. 

In the dictionary, the definition of Gabby is someone who is excessively or annoyingly talkative. I’ve been told many times, “you know, you're not very gabby for a Gabby”. I like to keep to myself in a room full of people I barely know. but once my close friends or family are around and I slowly turn into the definition of my name. Chatty, Loud, vocal, and some might even say motormouthed.

It may not seem like a very complicated name, but you’d be surprised at the number of times my name has been misspelled and mispronounced. “Here” is all I say after the teacher scans the letters on the attendance sheet, and asks if Gabriel, the male version of my name, is in class. Because if I corrected everyone who got my name wrong I’d quickly lose my voice. 

Gabi, Gabbie, Gaby. All my name but not all me. No matter what anyone else says, I am Gabby. G-A-B-B-Y. I am my own person and my spelling reflects that. 

My step sister's name is Gabi, G-A-B-I. But that's not me. We both share G-A-B, just like we share a love for chocolate, staying up late, and hanging out in my room. But I would argue that the last couple of letters are the most important part of our names. That's what makes us unique. Without my B-Y and her I, nobody would know the difference. I love burrito bowls with everything imaginable piled on. While Gabi would rather eat a plain soft shell taco with just meat and cheese. 

I would have never thought how important 5 silly little letters are to my life. They distinguish me from others and help portray who I am inside and out. I wouldn’t ever change a thing about my name. G-A-B-B-Y. That is who I am.