The name is Shellynne. It literally sounds the way it is spelled. Shel – lin. It is two syllables and there is no A. The number of ways my name has been pronounced is probably the only thing that surpasses the number of nationalities people have assumed I represent. Let’s get that one out of the way now. I am American. If people ask me where I’m from, I say Los Angeles. When they ask where my parents are from I say Los Angeles. I think the most recent immigrant in my family was my great-great grandmother who emigrated from Germany.

The most tenacious people usually change tactics after I tell them my parents are from Los Angeles. Then they switch to “where does Shellynne come from?” I tell them it’s made up. Sometimes I share the story of how I’m named after my father’s friend and her parents made…