A WOMAN who was bullied for her whole life for her unusual name but refused to change it, has revealed that she has now become a doctor.
Dr Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck has defied bullies by becoming proud of the name she was given.
And the 46-year-old has used her experience to research black names and how they affect the education of children in the US.
Recalling what her mother told her when she first asked her why she had an unusual name, she told the BBC: “My mother told me that your name will take you around the world.
“At the time I thought, ‘come on’, but I know my mum, she’s smart, she’s a genius and I trusted she really believed that.”
When she was at primary school Dr Marijuana said that she was constantly bullied by both the parents and the teachers.
“Marijuana is unusual and then you add Pepsi to it and the comments just didn’t stop and they still don’t stop.”
She said that her teachers would ask to call her Mary, which was fine until she won a school spelling bee.
When her mum saw that the name on it read Mary Jackson, she became very angry.
“She told me never to let them call me Mary ever again and then she went up to the school and demanded they change it. She wasn’t playing.”
By the time she had got to secondary school, Dr Marijuana said that the bullying had got worse and worse.
“It gave them ammunition, and I had to put up with so much. One day I decided that’s it I’m not taking it any more.”
With the help and support of her family, Dr Marijuana overcame her struggles, and changed her attitude towards her name.
She channelled her feelings into education, and has now gained a PHD in higher education leadership from Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin following her dissertation, “Black names in white classrooms- teacher behaviours and student perceptions”.
Dr Marijuana said that she had never given much thought to how others names may have affected their education, until in her first term working as a teacher, a colleague complained after seeing a list of the students she would be teaching.
The UK has no law restricting names, but names that contain obscenities, numerals, misleading titles, or are impossible to pronounce are likely to be rejected when registering a child.
She said that the teacher complained that from the names listed she could tell that she would be teaching the “black kids.”
“I thought this is ridiculous, I’m going to write about this”, she said.
Dr Marijuana now lives with her husband and son in Illinois, where she is working on a programme to help university students.
“We’re human, when we first hear a name, we form opinions, and judgements. It’s the next thing that one does that makes a difference”, she said.
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