My go-to fun fact for the past year has been that my two best friends are named Rachel. People usually respond by asking how we are able to know which Rachel we’re talking about, but to be completely honest, we don’t really have a method, we just know whom we are referring to. However, it does get me thinking of the litany of nicknames that I have accumulated throughout the years.
Rat-a-tat-tat, Ratata, Rtat, Ptat, Quiet Girl, Legacy, Wild Thang.
Those are just a few examples among the random ones that people are able to come up with. One semester, my friend Lexi was able to call me something different every time she saw me. But the ones that I just named are the standouts and are ones that I can attribute to a certain memory or reason to why I even have that nickname.
And because of all the social distancing I’ve been doing because of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been left alone with my thoughts, leading me to dwell on some of my nicknames. So, here are the thoughts that flooded my brain!
Rat-a-tat-tat. This is one that I’ve had for a good portion of my life, but it became more relevant because of this very strange video that my friends like to torture people with (Watch at your own discretion and consider yourself warned because it is pretty disturbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4r91mc8pbo). Don’t ask me how we discovered this, but I just always remember hysterically laughing with some of my favorite people in the entire world when I think of that video and this nickname. I’m reminded to frequently give myself some time for a good laugh and spend quality time with the people that I love. It’s vital that we laugh and have people to share a good laugh with.
Ratata. This is another nickname that I acquired earlier in my life. This one came about because I grew up doing whatever my older brother Isaac did, and that included the game of Pokémon. Ratata is everyone’s favorite purple rat, and in 2016, this nickname of mine was revived as people everywhere were catching Ratata when Pokémon GO came out. People would either call me “Ratata” or exclaim, “I just caught a Rachel!” when that purple rat would appear on their phones. This nickname reminds me of the nostalgic joy of returning to childhood – a time where everything was new and exciting, even the simplest things in life. And it reminds me of the weird lab group I have with some of my classmates that I now consider close friends. My friend Dalton got us all to start playing Pokémon GO again and it just goes to show how quirky this friend group is.
Rtat. This one became more common as I entered college because people would always comment on how short and simple my Purdue email address is. It’s simply, rtat, when others have several letters of their last name and a couple of random numbers attached to it. Lucky for me, I am the only Purdue student to have my name, and so I was able to just get rtat. Many people call me by this, but my friend Kip is the one that consistently greets me with a warm and excited “RTAT!” every time we see each other. I can always count on him to make me smile with that simple greeting. This nickname makes me think of the little things that brighten my day and the people who constantly remind me of those simple things we can do to be a good friend.
Ptat. This nickname came about because my Instagram username is @rachelptat, where the “p” comes from my middle initial. Some people actually think that my last name is spelled “ptat” where the “p” is silent, and my friend Chandler confessed to this. Ever since, she calls me “ptat” instead of the usual “rtat.” I can imagine that when people I know hear her call me this without any context of the origin, they are just utterly confused at Chandler for saying that and confused at me for responding to it. But this nickname reminds me to not be too critical of ourselves, but to laugh at our embarrassing moments and to not take life too seriously.
Quiet Girl. This name didn’t stick around, but it’s one that I remember vividly. In middle school, one of my swim coaches would call me this, because I was especially shy when I was younger. I distinctly remember when we would run laps in the gym, every time I would turn the corner where he was standing, he would yell out to me, “keep it up, Quiet Girl!” And I would respond quietly with a smile and a nod and keep running along. Although I wasn’t one of those teammates who would shout words of encouragement to be heard by the whole team, I still considered myself essential because of my quiet interactions with people in my lane and my weights partner. And I’m not one to celebrate my successes visibly, and throughout my swimming career, I would always just smile, talk it out with my coach, and continue on to whatever race was next. This nickname reminds me that there’s a unique quiet strength that comes with humility.
Legacy. I attended a small Catholic elementary and middle school but switched to a large public high school. Because of this, very few people knew my name, and no one knew who I was in my freshman PE class. For some reason, the teacher thought it was a great idea to start the year with some game and having two people picks teams (a classic gym class thing to do). I was wearing a bright orange shirt with “LEGACY” printed in black block letters (which sounds like a really weird shirt choice, but it was a tradition to have “word” shirts like that on our swimming training trips). When I was picked, the person obviously didn’t know what to call me and just shouted out “Legacy.” And thus, the name stuck the rest of the year. Although the name doesn’t have anything deep related to my gym class experience, this nickname does remind me that we can have an impact on people we don’t personally meet. That our actions and the way that we carry ourselves can make a difference.
Wild Thang. I received this nickname from my youth minister, Jake, on our Fall Retreat my freshman year. We carpooled over to the retreat center and I was bold enough to jump into his car. I think we were talking about ice cream and I mentioned how I always order mine in a cup, but that next time I would be wild and ask for it in a cone. And thus, Jake gave me the name “Wild Thang.” To my surprise, 6 years later, the name has still stuck. Various people in our church will refer to me by this name sometimes, but Jake is really the only person that consistently calls me this. What stands out to me is that he’ll call me by this name even in emails, text messages, and letters. The name has been a constant in our friendship and in my time in youth ministry and beyond. Whenever I get a text from him, he always starts with a “Hey, Wild Thang!” and I’m instantly brought back home, even while I’m away at college. It’s delightful to think of how much I’ve changed for the better since receiving that nickname and since that very first church retreat. This nickname reminds me of Jake, and how I have grown to be “wild” in my faith because he played a huge part in my faith formation.
Reflecting on those various nicknames and the stories written by them has given me a better idea of who I am and reminded me of certain things to remember to do in order to live joyfully and purposefully. Your actual name helps people know who you are, but I think fun nicknames can give people a glimpse of who you are. Your character, your heart, your soul. Who would have thought that being left alone with my thoughts would lead me to an analysis of a simple thing like nicknames?
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