Call Me What You Will
Ada Calhoun (rather, "Ada Calhoun") learns there's nothing like a false name to help you be your real self.
MY LEGAL SURNAME Schjeldahl, is complex and Norwegian. People see the jand abandon all hope of ever learning to pronounce or spell it. It's a name I use only for appointments, plane tickets, and my license. It's also the name of a prominent writer: my father.
Growing up, I wanted to be a writer myself, but I felt that job was taken. “You're not related to the art critic, are you?" people asked. If they gleaned that I had an interest in writing, they'd say, “Chip off the old block, eh?”
I hated that metaphor: He was a granite monolith, I a shard. He was leaving heavy footprints in the earth, while I tiptoed behind.
At 22, I was hired by The Austin Chronicle. (As uncomfortable as I felt pursuing a writing career, I couldn't get a job anywhere else.) As I filled out the new-hire paperwork, I discovered a little box that read dba, or "doing business as." That space vibrated with potential. Sitting at this newspaper's office, I was edging onto my father's turf. But when I saw that box, I thought, Who do I want to do business as? I wrote down Ada Calhoun.
Calhoun is my middle name. I was born on Saint Patrick's Day, so my parents named me after an Irish friend. ("How nice!" said Betsy Calhoun Baker. “But my name is Scottish.") With my new designation, I felt reborn. Ada Calhoun had no past, only a future. She was her own person. She was confident. She dressed sexier. She said her name and people didn't ask her to spell it 10 times. It wasn't just a pen name, though it did help me feel freer in writing articles for the Chronicle and, later, elsewhere. I used the name socially, too-most of my friends have no idea who Ada Schjeldahl is.
Bu hikaye The Oprah Magazine dergisinin Volume 2. No 2 - 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Oprah Magazine dergisinin Volume 2. No 2 - 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
The BEST BOOKS of 2024
We all loved Oprah's Book Club selections this year (did you read them all?), but here are our editors' favorite standouts on the shelves-from the thoughtprovoking to the heartwarming to the hilarious.
The Summer I TOOK My Mom "HOME"
Whenever I tell people about the Last Trip Home I took to Italy with my 87-year-old mother and my older son last summer, everyone has the same response (\"Awwww...\"), which makes me feel like a fraud because I know they're imagining some gauzy scene. And to be fair, I'd tried to plan it that way.
PARIS Made ME DO IT
Travel maybe shouldn't be any different than \"regular\" life, but it is.
LOST And Found IN AMERICA
When I was 21, I spent the summer driving around the United States with my boyfriend. It amazes me, looking back, that I let myself go on that eight-week trip.
I WENT I Saw, HATE
Ten years ago, I went to Tokyo on a lark. I was invited to the opening of the 38-story Aman Tokyo hotel, a beautiful example of urban minimalism and a destination unto itself.
Trips That Changed US All Forever
Me, MOM, And A Thousand SEABIRDS
Dear Biohackers, The Secrets to Longevity Are Simpler Than You Think
In a world of health trackers built to optimize, we propose choosing joy over deprivation and community over navel-gazing. The research agrees.
The Menopause Makeover: For When "Aging Gracefully" Gets Old
Because literally everything-from eyelids to neck skin to boobs to butt-falls off a cliff. Here, a dozen interventions women in this life stage are embracing.
Why I Cut Off All My Hair
The author of City of Girls and Big Magic talks about how she made the bold decision to break out the clippers in order to find her own version of beauty.
The Perfect Gift Book for Everyone on Your List
Sumptuous reads that look as lovely on your coffee table as they do on your bedside table.