The name Lauren is not a bad name. In fact, I like it quite a bit. Most of my life, everyone, including all of my family, has always called me by my given name or a plethora of funny pet names attached to or having no relation to Lauren. And we can't forget the many pronunciations of the name Lauren : "LAR-en", "LARN", or "LOR-en" (though I prefer the last). Have no fear, I will always answer to all of it.

I'm not sure what first intrigued me about having a nickname. Perhaps it was the thrill of having an alternative and simplified name or quite possibly the chance to do away with the above pronunciations. Unfortunately, the name Lauren sure doesn't create many opportunities for a unique nickname. While most of the nicknames it’s associated with may work for others, they are not my favorite go-tos and I most certainly do not want to be called Laurie, Laura, Lala, Lulu, or Lolo. I'm really confused as to why the latter three make it into the mix, but we'll chalk it up to the possibility that maybe someone (named Lauren) was desperate for a nickname too.

Whatever the intrigue, and despite what I saw as a lack of options, let's rewind to over 15 years ago to my first day of beauty school.

All of us new students filed into our first orientation class. Per the school's request, we were dressed in our uniforms of black pants and white tops. Dreadfully boring if you ask me—and quite a poor choice for those prone to sweating and armpit stains (insert my hand raised and my own sweaty armpit here). The director stood at the front of the classroom and mentioned that she would perform roll call and to let us know if we had a nickname (associated with our name) that we would rather go by instead. Maybe it was the dull uniform, but I saw my chance to create an alternative name and spark this new chapter of mine. As my name was called, I raised my hand and said, "right here, but you can call me Wren". I have to say it was the first time I had ever offered a nickname for myself—and to a room full of people. While I had picked the coolest option, I realized I may not have said it with much confidence as it had sounded more like a soft suggestion. My hope started to sink as the director just looked at me and continued on with her roll call. So much for first suggestions and impressions. It was no surprise that from that day on, I was called Lauren by every person there until I graduated 9 months later.

A few months after graduating, I was so thrilled to have found a solid place of work to launch my career. It was a local salon and one that felt like home the minute I walked through the door—in my then trademark argyle kneesocks, of course. It was a place where the girls were like family and the laughter was endless. On establishing ourselves with each other, I tried my hand at having a nickname again—another a soft suggestion. To my surprise, they happily loved the idea! I couldn't believe my one syllable suggestion had taken flight into an official nickname, and from that day forward, I was called and known to them as Wren! Depending on the flow of conversations over the next 6.5 years, the girls put their own spins on my nickname that ranged from Wren to Wren Ben to Wren Wren and I loved each variation. Our given names were always how our clientele knew us, but I loved that our nicknames were the chosen go-tos that rolled off the tongues of us stylists with ease and ignited more identity and closeness within our little family.

That closeness was even more evident to me as the guy I liked and was not dating (but spoiler alert—is now my husband) entered the salon for his first haircut with me. The morning buzz of the Saturday had slowed and blurred into the late afternoon hours. As most stylists had finished up and gone home, I had figured it was perfect timing in order to keep things on the down low and not attract too much unwanted attention to this guy. However, not everyone had gone home. My boss and a co-worker were sitting nearby as he walked in the door. They immediately welcomed him, and without skipping a beat, my boss matter of factly said, "so you're the one for our Wren". Mind you, I was standing right there and completely embarrassed by her bold (yet true) statement, but it warmed my heart that my nickname was a small but mighty representation of who I was to them. I had only introduced myself as Lauren to this guy, and as families do, my girlfriends were now sharing with him a new dimension of me that only they were privy to. Embarrassed as I was, I was also grateful to detect the subtle hint of protectiveness in their welcome. It wasn't long after the first best haircut of his life and that generous $7 tip that I received that he jumped aboard with my work family in calling me "Wren". And after making us our own official family of two just a short two years later, he too has since created his own variation of my nickname by calling me Wrenley!

But, as seasons go, they don't last forever and that very first sweet season of time has passed. Growing my career shifted me away from that very first salon and being called and known as Wren started to dwindle a bit. Having the chance to still work with a few of my previous co-workers who had also moved with me gave way to keeping up old nicknames for each other, but as time gave way to more goodbyes, more salon moves, and meeting new co-workers, my nickname soon diminished to the occasional mention and I resorted back to introducing myself as Lauren.

With a fast forward to present day, I've now quit my 15+ year career as a hairstylist and makeup artist (another story for another time), and the people who call me Wren remain a very few bunch. They include my husband, my best girl friend, and those sweet friends from my early career days whom I occasionally run into or text. I'm thankful for those moments of hearing and seeing my nickname, but I do still miss the daily doses of it. My Instagram handles and this website only hint at past history where "Wren" was a once upon a time nickname, unique to my early adulthood and career days, and has fondly stuck with me forever. It's a nickname that started out as a fun [soft suggestion] and grew in sentimentality largely due to an array of very sweet memories attached and friends turned family who were excited to bring it to life.

I realize that while the name Wren is second nature to me and a handful of others, it’s foreign to many.

While I will always answer to and be most often known by my given name, this post was created to share the background story of what is still so sweetly familiar.

So yes, my name is Lauren—