Penny is such a dumb name. I don’t know what my mother was thinking! Stupid boys have always made fun of me saying that I’m as worthless as a penny. Everybody hates pennies. People don’t even pick them up when they see them lying in the street.
Okay – don’t tell anybody, but I do know what my mom was thinking. And that’s kind of a cool story. (But Penny is still a dumb name.) Our last name is Havan. It’s supposed to be pronounced like the beginning of Havana – as in Cuba, but nobody, including us for lots of generations, pronounces it right. Now we all just say Havan like raven – the bird. But the real way sort of sounds like heaven and my mom says that I’m all sorts of tiny gifts each and every day which adds up to a real fortune. So really that’s what Penny Havan (that’s me) is – a fortune. (Okay, maybe it’s not such a dumb name.)
I’ve been thinking about what I could do to make my name cooler. I could spell it weird – like my friend Su. Penne . . . no, then the guys would say I was a limp noodle.
Maybe I could have my name say something about me. I could be a writer or artist and be Pen. Or maybe I could be a doctor – Penicillin.
Or maybe I should just be me – Penny Havan. Kind of tomboyish – I like to climb rocks and trees and hike, sail, and snowshoe and I build a mean campfire. Kind of girly – I like to wear aqua and fuchsia nail polish, dangly earrings, and french braid my hair. Kind of artisty – I play guitar and organ and love theatre. And I draw, paint, and make really cool hippos out of clay. Kind of sportsy – I love ice-skating and swimming. Kind of nerdy – I love reading mysteries and scifi and Eleanor Roosevelt is my hero. Let’s face it – she was kind of nerdy too. But she sure did love people and swimming and hotdogs. So we’re sort of the same. (Okay, so maybe Penny is a really cool name that really does fit me – lots of wonderful little things – a fortune!)