Dear Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

Though you are my cousin who is ten years older than me,

and we share clothes and books and family,

we do not share our names, our bodies, or the same dreams.

Sometimes, when grandpa's memory isn't serving him well, he calls me by your name.

Though grandma assures everyone that he only forgets short term memories,

he has managed to forget me. 

Each time he forgets me, I become you.

Apparently my feeble seventeen years can be short term.

Grandpa never makes this mistake when you are around,

and when you are around he seems to remember me better. 

Yet I wish he could remember me in your absence. 

How he so confidently calls me by your name makes me crave to make a name for myself that is not unforgettable -

but perhaps unmistakeable.