Let me set the scene for you. Mainland NorCal, probably the spring of 1992, which was my 5th grade year at Kynoch Elementary. It's recess time, me and my friends are all playing tag near/around the jungle gym on the playground. I'm "it" and all the kids are taunting me, in hopes that I'll chase them as they duck n' dodge my attempts to tag someone. One boy (I had a crush on) decides to be cute and clever and shouts out, "Hey Yaoyuanae (pronounced Yeow-you-wah-knee), YEAH-YOU-WANT-ME!!!"
I froze in shock, while everyone else continued to run around and laugh their asses off. With that loving outburst, I quit, and quickly retreated towards the classrooms. I figured I'd just cruise and wait for the bell to ring. There was no coming back from that one. He just called me out on the playground in front of everyone! In my head, I was thinking, "How did he know?!?!" Little did I know, he was just teasing in an effort to get me to go after him...In a game of tag, not pursue him as a love interest. Oh, the complications of being a 5th grader. lol
So, for all of you who think that I might actually think that I'm thinking "yeahyouwantme," you're wrong. I've turned an embarassing situation into a laughable moment in my history. Just to prove how awkward I was as a child, here's this lovely photo of me, circa 6th grade. My mom chopped me a J5 afro (but that's another story for another day). I post it because it's @CASEYSOWN 's fave of me. He likes to see his big sis as young and innocent; not a mean bully with a Barry White Autotune voice like he pictures me in the present day.
Anyway, that's why I go by Yaya. Most people cannot pronounce my real name, so kids started calling me Yaya and it stuck. My fam n close friends call me Yao. My sis still doesn't react if she hears Yaya, because she's so used to calling me Yao or Yayao. On a side note, I hate when people capitalize my name or space it out like this 'Ya Ya' or 'YaYa.' Don't ask, it's just irrahs. Probably why @CASEYSOWN likes to spell it like that on purpose.
