You see, introducing myself has never been easy for me. My name—Kshitij is rather peculiar. Just ask any substitute teacher who’s ever had to read roll call. Just ask every interviewer who’s started the conversation with:

So I don’t want to mess this up. How do you say your name?

At first, it used to bother me. It stopped me from going up to people at events— I would have to explain to them how to pronounce my name all over again.

The ‘K’ is actually silent, and there’s not a hard ‘t’ in there.

After 3 or 4 times, maybe they’d get it. Maybe they wouldn’t. It didn’t matter, because I didn’t particularly make the effort to correct them. I saw it as a ritual and a drag. It was an everyday thing, of course.

At Starbucks, I was Sean.

Yet something amazing happened junior year of high school. One of my friends started calling me ‘Kshit’. I thought it was just a light joke- after all, I had been called everything from chi-chi to seatej (by my soccer coach) over the years. This one didn’t go away after a good laugh though. Kshit stuck. As high school wound down, I didn’t think much of it. A few friends to call me Kshit— so be it. Easier for them, easier for me.

That was all before the day I slipped up. Standing in the line for Subway- over the counter- the guy asked me my name. Just another mundane greeting. Grouped around all my friends, I blurted out, “Kshit”. I stuttered a bit, trying to take it back. Then, I saw a smile spread across his face.

I won’t forget that man. See you next week.

That struck a chord. I won’t forget that. That’s it! My name. It was the secret sauce in my pitch. Every conversation ever- you’re pitching yourself to someone. I had the perfect opener. I could grab anyone’s attention with the shake of a hand and one word.

It got worse (er, better). The first couple days of Caltech when I first met my advisor, a PhD in Geology, he asked what my name was. Confidently, I replied

Everyone calls me Kshit.

With a knowing smile, he said

If I can call you Kshit, you can call me Paul.

Caltech was the perfect way to start this anew. Besides some close friends, everyone here knows me as Kshit. It’s unique. It sticks. It’s a bit of a lesson in finding a silver lining. Maybe it even shows something about living life with a bit of levity. Stealing from Oscar Wilde,

Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.

The name’s Kshit. I would tell you not to forget, but trust me- it ain’t easy.