The Ubiquitous Middle Initial

My name is Alex T. Valencic. I don't know exactly when this started, but I am fairly confident that, at lest by the time I was in the fourth grade, I had been writing my name in this format. My best friend would write his name is a similar format: first name, middle initial, last name. For me, the middle initial has become part of my identity.

When I introduce myself in person, it is as either Alex or Alex Valencic. I rarely speak my middle initial. But if I am writing, I find it looks weird without that ubiquitous capitalised letter and period between my first given name and my surname. I have almost succeeded in this endeavour. There are still a few places where the T is left out, most notably on the programs for the Parkland Wind Ensemble. Each semester I request that my name be printed as Alex T. Valencic, and each semester I am disappointed. Some day, though, I will be victorious.

The strange thing is that I am so used to writing my name as Alex T. Valencic that I never think about it being odd. I would like to think it is a family thing, but I don't think that is absolutely true. At least two in my immediate family growing up went by their middle names (but they initialised thee first name, so maybe that counts). I think that at least one of my brothers uses his middle initial almost as often as me. And I am pretty certain both of my sisters do so on occasion. I am not sure how often my other brothers do it. I may be the only one who always uses the initial. Apparently it is an oddity, though. However, the oddity has become part of the fun. Friends always ask what the middle initial stands for, and I rarely tell. I am not embarrassed by my middle name (even if it has become an extremely popular name for girls in recent years). I just think it is fun to keep people guessing. It is also fun to have them guess my brothers' middle names instead. Thomas? Nope. Travis? Uh-uh. Timothy! Try again. Tiberius? Awesome middle name, but no. Keep guessing.

Sharing my initials with my siblings is a large part of the reason for why I am so adamant about using my middle initial. My parents named their first son after my dad. My second brother happened to be given the same initials. I am not sure, but I think number three was also coincidental. I know that by number four, my parents had decided that all of their children would have the same initials. They may have made this decision considerably earlier. I am notorious for blurring the family history. One of the reasons why I am going to set Dad up with a blog the next time I visit. But I digress. Eight children, all proudly carrying the same initials. (If you feel you really must know my siblings' names, ask. I may tell you. Or I may not. It depends on how well I know you and how much I trust you.)

In a very real sense, I consider my middle initial as much a part of my family name as I do my, well, family name. I am not just Alex Valencic. I am Alex T. Valencic. One of ten A. T. Valencics in this world (including my mum, who adopts my dad's name for the purposes of being one of the ten). And thus, it will be a rare instance in which you see me write my name without my middle initial.