Z stands for Me!

ok, i was trying to avoid the most obvious z word in my book, which is my middle name, zoe, the name i've been called since i was an infant. but really, what other z word could be more significant to me?

my grandfather insisted on calling me zoe from the start, rather then lara, my first name, and his was the word that stuck. zoe was my grandmother's name, and she died while i was in utero. so zoe it is, and zoe it always shall be.


zoe and michael, my maternal grandparents

i certainly don't mind. though it was a difficult name to have as a child. i lived in a small, small town, and zoe was a rather unusual name. i was called everything from zebra to zipper to zorba to zoot suit. ok, maybe not zoot suit.

zoe is the greek word for life. if you every listen to greek pop music, it's guaranteed you'll hear my name repeated often. i've had random christians tell me (with a hungry sparkle in their eyes) how my name means "life of god". and indeed, if you google it, you'll learn astonishing things like, the word zoe is used 134 times in the new testament to indicate eternal life. or that zoe was the daughter of sophia and is another name for eve:

After the day of rest, Sophia sent her daughter Zoe, being called Eve, as an instructor, in order that she might make Adam, who had no soul, arise, so that those whom he should engender might become containers of light. When Eve saw her male counterpart prostrate, she had pity upon him, and she said, "Adam! Become alive! Arise upon the earth!" Immediately her word became accomplished fact. For Adam, having arisen, suddenly opened his eyes. When he saw her, he said, "You shall be called 'Mother of the Living'. For it is you who have given me life."
(on the origin of the world from the nag hammadi library)


my mother, tatiana

well, i'm not a christian. i was baptized greek orthodox, but i had no say in that. i think christianity is fascinating, and there are certainly good stories to be told, and amazing lessons embedded within. but monotheism just doesn't work for me. so while some might try to convince me that zoe means the life of god, i'm perfectly happy knowing it means life of all.


me with my dear cousin, david

according to a chart i found, the popularity of the name zoe has grown exponentially in the new millenium. from 1880 to 1980, less than 265 per million births were named zoe. in the year 2000, there was a leap to 2,384 named zoe per million births.

it used to be people would say, "were your parents hippies?" and then people would say, "oh, i know a dog named zoe." now i hear people calling to their children named zoe, and of course, i always do a double take.

here is a great list of words beginning with z.

and here is me trying to steal candy from my grandfather's pocket:



thus ends the encyclopedia of me meme! it's been a great vehicle for inspiration and reflection. it's never too late to begin! thanks to bella dia for urging us all on!