I have given friends some names which have have marked them for life but fortunately, I have not been market yet. Hehe, there was this time one of such nicknames almost got stuck with me but fortunately, my quiet and shy nature back then did not allow that. Nicknames for me when they are bad, I do not like them but when they are good and have no bad bearing, I openly give them out freely.
I think my entire life, I have had just two or three names I can call a nickname. At home, I am called my name Yahuza and even in school, I have been called by my names. The first time I was given a nickname was in Junior high school by my English language teacher. What happened and he called me that, I do not even think it warranted a name but maybe he was in a bad mood or something.
He was in class teaching and if I can remember correctly, I was late to class. I came in and instead of sitting down fast, I walked slowly to my seat. I have been a back bencher all my life so naturally, my seat was at the back so it delayed me. I was still heading to my seat when I heard my teacher shout “hey atom, sit down”. I had to get it translated very well because he said it in the local dialect and I wasn’t fluent then. I got some but I asked a friend and he fully translated that the man described me as an atom.
The funny thing is I was not that small, at least that’s what I believe but my classmates started calling me atom. I did not fight it because I realized when you fight a name, that’s when it sticks with you and it’s even more enjoyable for your friends to call you by that. I even used it as my main email when the entire class went through that lecture. My classmates and I were taken to the lab to learn email creation and I opted for the email with my name, atom. That made my classmates realize I wasn’t too bothered with the name but frankly I used that because I did not know a name to use.
When we were about completing, I opted for a name because we had to print our names and our nicknames on some t-shirts. I went for the name of a scientist back then which was “Murray”. To be honest, my mom suggested that because I didn’t know what to print. That name didn’t stick too and I’m glad it didn’t.
Fast forward, I entered the university and that was when one of my names turned into a nickname. Chenty is short for my name Chentiwuni which means leave it for God or leave it to God. It just means to not hold grudges, do what I can and leave the rest to the Almighty. I believe it has had some meaning in my life. It’s surprising I like this name now because I used to omit it when asked what my name was. When asked, I would just mention my surname and my first name Yahuza leaving Chentiwuni out.
It wasn’t until university one of my friends shortened it to Chenty and immediately, I fell in Kobe with it. I mean, it wasn’t a bad name and it was my real name just shorter, more easier to pronounce and nothing bad at all. I have it printed on my jersey just as a way to promote it. A lot of my friends and course mates call me Chenty now but my childhood friends still call me Yahuza.
So yeah, here’s a short story on how I got the nickname Chenty and how much I like it. If we chat on discord, you already know Chenty is my name cos it’s part of my username but if you don’t, then I introduce to my better half. Haha, Chenty is the make friends.