My name is Alessandra Maria Gutierrez-Arnold, and if you add all of the letters in my name, you would see that I have a total of 29 letters. My name is difficult to pronounce, and even more difficult to spell. I spent a lot of my time correcting others in high school when they tried to spell or pronounce my name, especially when a substitute called my name on roll call. The reason my parents gave me such a long name is because my mother read a book on a long airplane ride which had the character “Alessandro” and thought it would be a good name for me, despite the fact that we are not Italian. My middle name is the first name of my Abuela, although she went more frequently by her middle name Angelica. Lastly, my last name is a mixture of both my parents names. Gutierrez is my father’s paternal name. In Chile, where my dad is from, people have two last names, the paternal name and then the maternal name. Someone’s paternal name comes from their father’s paternal name, and their maternal name come’s from their mother’s paternal name. For me, my maternal name is the only last name that my mother has. Even though it is very long and difficult for others, it’s a name that I don’t plan on changing ever, as I have had to explain it again and again to people who don’t understand it. Of course, my brother’s name is Lucas.
I was born on October 27, 2001 in Rochester, NY but in 2004 I moved to Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC where I have lived ever since. My family is very spread out, and my immediate family is the only family that lives in the south, unless if you count my father’s side of the family which lives in South America. My father’s side of the family lives in a place called Rancagua, which is a small city to the south of Santiago. I have visited it a number of times, although in more recent years I have’t traveled there as frequently. I only visit over Christmas, so I have only ever known it in summer. On the other hand, my mother is from LA, although my Grandparents now live in Oakland. I visit Oakland more frequently than Rancagua, and I also visit LA more or less every summer or so. My hobbies include playing the violin and fencing, although I do enjoy other creative outlets like drawing and reading that are more relaxed. My favorite subjects in school were always social studies related, such as Modern Global Conflicts and AP Comparative Government. This led me to become active in my local government, and this past year I was president of the Carrboro Youth Council, and a member of the Carrboro Commission meeting. I look forward to learning about Urban Culture and Society this year.