This.

OMG, this, so much this.

Kamala versus Daenerys.

I have been mocked for my name, it's been laughed at, othered, and embarrassed. I have been told "that's not American, is it?" It's been made clear to me that "real Americans" have "American names."

People never ever say it correctly, even though the last name at least is pronounced almost exactly at it's written.

Years ago, I almost donated $5 to a Republican, can't even remember who. The guy on the name started with "Is this..." and he said my name perfectly. It had never happened before, and it has never happened since, that someone will say it correctly, or without the "I'm butchering this" or "Wow, that's long!"

So yeah.

My name has always been a sore point for me. I still have a hard time forgiving my parents. Yes, I know that now people are more ok with weird ass names, though not completely, but when I was a child? It was a constant source of mockery and set me apart from kids my age, when all I'd ever wanted was to be ignored, one of the crowd.

But then again. My mother was fan of an Egyptian singer, called Oum Kalthoum, where Oum means mother. One day she was talking about how much she loved that singer and said to me "I should have named you Oum Kalthoum." She was completely serious. So I guess Leila was, in fact, my best case scenario.