I Used To HATE the First Days of School

I used to HATE first days of school. 😩😩😩

Even though I’m chronically late, I would arrive a WHOLE HOUR early to go to all my classes early, and introduce myself to all my teachers. Why? Because I needed to tell them how to pronounce my name before they butchered it in front of everyone. Especially because I was usually first on the roster (cuz: Ajayi last name).

I’d walk right up to them, tell them that my legal first name wasn’t the one I wanted them to use, and then teach them how to pronounce AJAYI. I’d say “It’s just like it’s spelled: AH-JAH-YEE.” 

Class would begin and they’d take the roll. They’d get to my name and look like they were told to sell quantum physics, and then proceed to butcher it anyway! 😭 It never failed. And it always pissed me off. The time I took to practice with them didn’t matter. 

This also happened at my high school graduation! After practicing my name with the vice principal for a FULL TEN MINUTES, when the big moment came, he butchered it so badly I wouldn’t have known he was calling ME if I wasn’t next in line! 🙄😒

And I know I’m not alone in this. 

Many of y’all share the same memories (or if you personally don’t, you have a loved one who has been THROUGH it with their beautiful name). 

And I was getting an award and the person SKIPPED saying the “AJAYI” part of Luvvie Ajayi Jones because they simply thought it was too burdensome. “Luvvie Jones?” WHERE IS MY AJAYI??

A lifetime of this is why I wrote my next children’s book, “Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name”. 

I want the littles to know they aren’t alone in this, and for them to always remember that their names are worth defending. And for us grownups to know it’s never too late to start correcting folks, and insisting that people take the time and energy to speak our names as we want them to be spoken. 

Kids deserve to see a character like Little Luvvie who refuses to be humbled and will always use her voice to say “do it right.” And in this book, she also gets AN APOLOGY, which so many of us have never gotten from folks acting like our names are burdensome.

Because one thing about Little Luvvie with her fade? She will never be made to feel ashamed of herself. She will always embody pride in who she is. 🤩

This book is dedicated to everybody whose names were never on the keychains or mugs. 

And honestly? Maybe us adults need it even more than the kids because we’ve spent a lifetime defending our names. Some of us are just now learning it’s okay to do that. 🫶🏾

If this lands with you, pre-order your copy TODAY at LittleTroublemakerBook.com for the May 6th release! Preorders REALLY matter.

Click Here to Pre-order your copy!

Grab one for yourself and one for a little troublemaker you love.

Did you have to defend your name as a child too? Reply and tell me your story! I want to hear about it. 

P.S. We are on a mission to get this book into the hands of 10,000 students around the country, without their teachers incurring cost. Our Sponsorship Train is now open! Educators can request books to be donated to their classrooms, and Sponsors can pledge to cover the cost of books. We’ll match you and make the process easy. Our goal is getting 10,000 books into the hands of kids who need them. 

Click here to join our Sponsorship Train!