September 30, 1995:

My name is Ni Young Yoon,
        Nye Yun Yun,
        Nai Yung Youn,
        Nhi Yon Yün,
        Ni Young Yoon,
I can only spell it out phonetically.
        Ni Young Yoon,
the three syllables float in my mouth
like the gibberish of a baby, bubbling out sounds,
resembling a language I never spoke, but taste on my tongue,
babbling to a mother I’d never know, but see in the mirror.

My name was Ni Young Yoon.


January 23, 1996:

My name is Natalie Rose Sereda,
Natalie, my dad’s favorite actress,
Natalie, my mom’s favorite singer,
Nata, my grandpa’s twenty-year-old nickname,
Nat!, my younger brother’s call from downstairs,
Neeeatalie, my older sister’s Chicago accent,
My name is Natalie Rose Sereda,
words tucked into the bed of my tongue
fast asleep under the roof of my mouth,
a baby wakes up after a long flight over,
she is greeted at the gate, named in the airport,
and in this moment, in the arms of her parents, she is born.

My name is Natalie Rose Sereda.