People saying my name is one of my favorite things to hear. My nickname that is. Dani. Something about hearing “Dani” makes me feel appreciated and recognized. I don’t know if that makes me an attention seeker. When someone says “Dani” in a sentence though. Wow. That just makes me feel like the person really wants to talk to me. I know your attention is actually on me.

The name Dani is defined in English by beauty, intellect, and defiance. My mom says this suits me well. Intellect; mental powers. Not me. But defiance; open resistance, bold disobedience. Yes.  I have been stubborn my whole life according to my parents. Determined to be right all the time. They said when I’m older I’m going to be a lawyer. It’s now my number one dream job. 

The name comes from the elegant French language. A sophisticated language, making me feel like I have a lovely name. People say it’s hard to argue with the French when it comes to taste and style. And style is crucial to me. I intend to dress to impress. Maybe that’s where I get it from. It’s all in the name. 

My dad has always been a person who likes to shorten names. He shortened his own name from David to Dave, my mom's name from Nicole to Nick, my sister's name from Sydney to Syd. Then there’s my name that goes from Danielle to Dani. I’m happy because I don’t think I would let anyone say my name if it was Danielle.

The only thing I despise about my name is when people call me Daniel. Do I look like Daniel to you? If you answered yes to that, rethink your decisions. Please, for my sake.

Whenever I think of the name Dani, the only picture that comes to my mind is myself. Not the other Dani’s in the world. But, when I think of Danielle, I think of celebrities like Danielle Bregoli, Danielle Cohn. This is why I personally think that Dani suits me better than Danielle. I want people to know me as Dani, not Danielle because I don’t even know myself as that.