Nicknames

Hadley. When I tell people that’s my name, it’s usually followed by “wow, that’s very unique”, or “Hadley?” as if they are making sure that I in fact said my name was Hadley, and not Hayley or something like it. Megan, my very first roommate in college called me to discuss our living situation. “ Hi is Hadelee there?” she said, “ yes, this is Hadley” I responded in a very snarky tone. She has been one of my very best friends ever since. Growing up I was never too fond of my name, but then again most people don’t call me Hadley. For my friends it’s : Hads, Hines, HRH, Stucky, Bubba, the list goes on and on. I love my full name, Hadley Rebecca Hines, because of my initials: HRH – Her Royal Highness. Growing up my favorite t-shirt said “treat me no differently than you would the queen”, words to live by, let me tell you! For those of you who didn’t know me until later in life, I’m sure this explains a lot!

Bubba Chunk. Bubba for short. The name, Bubba Chunk started at the "kids" Thanksgiving table about 15 years ago. I was probably on my fourth helping of Thanksgiving dinner, when Will, my brother so affectionalty referred to me "Bubba Chunk" and thus it all began... I will be the first to admit it, I was fat, fat probably doesn’t do it justice I was HUGE, tipping the scales at 168 in the 3^rd grade; my mom still claims I was just right. How do you get Hadley off the diving board? You get her brother to stand at the bottom with a box of crispy creme donuts. How do you get Hadley to walk around Williamsburg without complaining? Promise her fudge. I could retell countless examples when food was the reason I got to the end result.

Stucky. I never had sisters, but Elizabeth and Sarah are about as close to it as they come. We spent almost every summer together starting in the 5^th grade when the Hines family moved onto Whitland Avenue. Sarah had a tree house in her front yard that we played in all the time. Elizabeth- who had a broken arm at the time- and I were playing in their front yard, when the neighborhood boys started attacking us with water guns. I decided to seek refuge in the tree house. As I squeezed my women’s size 18 body in between the tree and the ladder i reached the top. I got my arms through and half of my upper body, but the rest just wouldn’t fit. I was stuck. As my legs dangled below the open hole, my new nickname ‘stuck’.