My name is Miyu.

Say it with me here-- mee you.
That's how you pronounce my name.
Over the years I've had people butcher and modify my name over and over-- Once you get it, it's not that hard to say it, but for some odd reason people find my name to be a difficult one.
I remember when I was around 9 years old, I was very insecure about my name because no one ever remembered it (I guess it's kind of hard to ask 4th graders to remember anything, actually). So one night my dad tells me, "You can just introduce yourself by saying, 'My name is Miyu. It's like me and you.'" As soon as I heard him say that I started to cry-- my simple 9-year-old brain told me that such way to introduce myself was not only ridicuous, but made me look like a fool. I vowed to myself that I would never use that way to explain my name.
I have tried to use "American" names before-- in my 7th grade year I was known as Cindy (my dad decided, though he argued that my name was "already nice")-- but that did not last longer than one semester. I was sick of people not remembering my name, but at the same time, I was sick of feeling like I was someone that I'm not.
As middle school ended and high school began, the opportunities to introduce myself lessened, maybe because high school was a very complicated, self-realizing period in my life. I was more reserved and rarely met anyone new.
Though the story of name in America does not sound like the happiest story to be ever told by an immigrant, I do get the kick out of the way Starbucks baristas spell it. Throughout the years, they have spelled my name like this:
meeyoo
myou
miu
meyo
miya
maya
miyou

and the list goes on. These days I just make up a name or say my boyfriend's name to save those poor baristas from confusion.
I'm happy to say, however, that I've learned to love my name. It's unique and I know that my parents have spent many hours trying to find the best name when I was born. I love my kanji, or the Chinese-origin letters, for my name as well. In the future I'm planning to get those characters tattooed on my ankles. Though it is tough to meet new people since I know that most of them would never remember my name, there are times when someone does remember and compliment it. Name is something that cannot be taken away from you no matter how poor or happy you are.
To add to my story-- I actually now introduce myself by saying, "My name is Miyu. It's like me and you." It turns out that my dad was right-- people remember more often when I say that!