Freewrite 4: My Name

My name is Charles Vincent William Behling.
Kinda fancy name, no?
That’s why I go by Charlie. I think of my name more as Charlie than anything else because I have always been called Charlie. No one ever called me Charles, well not really. A few friends did to be funny sometimes. But Charlie was my name. On my soccer teams everyone got a nickname. There was Murph, a shortened form of Murphy. There was Hammer, because there were so many people named ‘Ryan’, and there was Charlie. I mean, that’s not even really a nickname. It’s the same number of letters as my real name. [By the way, every name I have has 7 letters, including my mother’s maiden name (Raccuia – good luck pronouncing that one!) and I was born in July. And I only figured this out about a year ago.]
Anyway, nicknames. In elementary school Pokemon was a big thing. Being named Charlie, the only logical thing to do was for people to start calling me Charmander. I was too big to be a charmelion, but not big enough for Charzard, or so I was told. But as Pokemon faded out, so did that nickname. I had another one for a short while: it was Bones. Apparently it was because I was a tiny bony kid on a lacrosse team holding my own against guys twice my size and weight. I must be some sort of weird skeleton thing. Right? Hence, Bones. But it didn’t stick. None of the names I’ve been called have stuck. So people mostly just stopped trying.
I had a history teacher who called me Chuck when he though I wasn’t paying attention. It didn’t help that he called me by a name no one else ever called me. So I’d be taking notes, or doodling, and he’d scream, “WHAT DO YOU THINK, CHUCK?” And I’d just keep writing, until I thought, “Oh wait, I’m chuck, aren’t i?” My slowness to respond was taken as not paying attention.
The only name that has stuck besides Charlie is Char. A very, very, close friend called me that one day. She said she liked how cute it sounded, and ever since then to her I have been Char. Unless she’s angry.
If someone calls me Charles I know they don’t know me. If they say it in a funny voice, they are trying to be funny. I’m Charlie to most people. It’s just who I am, I guess.

Very nicely written, Charlie. A detailed response.

But I DO like Charles! I prefer "les" to "lie", but it IS more formal sounding or stately or old fashioned and Charlie is sweet and likable. But I always wonder about names that never get used.

I also like the visual image of Bones on the lacrosse field.

And lucky number 7!
(Your "character" comes across in this freewrite.)

Very interesting with the seven letters. Have you ever asked your parents about that? I want to know if it was intention or coincidence!

Interesting nicknames. I particularly liked Charmander. Charlie is nice too, though!

There's a very distinct voice in this piece that adds to the story. Good job on letting that show through!

I really like that bit on the nickname Chuck. I've had people call me bizarre nicknames out of the blue before, and they're surprised when I don't respond. It's funny how your teacher took that the wrong way. I like how you have 7 letters in all of your names. Is your father's name like that too?

Your voice is very apparent in this freewrite. I really liked your descriptions of all of your nicknames (particularly Bones) as well as your personal response to your name. The scene about "Chuck" was very amusing.