My Name

Stephanie, my name is from Greek origins. It means “Crown” or “Crowned One”. It comes from the Greek male name, Stephanos.

My parents used to live in a small town north of Kuala Lumpur, called Kuala Lipis. They would commute from there to Kuala Lumpur for doctor’s visits when my mum was pregnant with me, a two-hour drive. To pass the time they would discuss and decide baby names as they drove along. They both agreed on the name Stephanie after Princess Stephanie of Monaco. My middle name, Grace, was chosen after an old family friend and also Princess Grace of Monaco.

I have always been happy with my name. It isn’t to short or to long; it’s in the middle. Kind of like Goldilocks and the three bears! Most people can say it properly and not mispronounce it or misspell it. I can’t remember a time where I have ever wanted to change my name, nor can I remember a time where I was teased about my name.

Lots of my friends shorten my name and just call me Steph. My brother used to call me “Di Di” when he was small and couldn’t say my name yet. He got it off a cartoon in which the older sisters name was Di Di. He never calls me that anymore. My parents sometimes call me “Pooks”, after a book I used to like when I was small.

Classic Greek Myths

During humanities today, we watched two short films on classic Greek myths. The first was about the great inventor, Daedalus and his son Icarus. The second was of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Out of the two films viewed, my favourite was the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus. I preferred it to the other story as it was faster paced. It went from one exciting event to the next. I enjoyed the characters more than the story. I found the character’s personalities were very unpredictable. Daedalus was surprising, one minute he is creating and building, the next he is flinging his nephew over a building!

Some themes that are common in the two stories include regret, sadness, loneliness and hatred. Daedalus regretted killing his nephew and blamed himself for the death of his son Icarus. Theseus regretted not putting up the white sail on his ship, which caused his father to commit suicide. Daedalus lived the rest of his life alone and in sorrow. Theseus lived in sadness, knowing that if he had put the white sail up, his father would have still been alive. Both men had enemies or the hatred for something or someone. Daedalus had King Minos searching for him all over Greece and Theseus hated the Minotaur for taking the lives of innocent people.

Overall I enjoyed both of the stories. After hearing several Greek myths, I have noticed that most don’t usually have a happy ending!