I love my name. It's not particularly uncommon, but it's not particularly common. It comes from the Latin, Justinus, and means righteous, fair, and just. However, the name "Justine" has also caused me a lifelong set of griefs to which I'm sure all Justines can relate. Let me just give you a quick glimpse:

1. The First Day of School Nightmare: I used to dread the first day of school, because most likely, my new teacher was going to do roll call, get to my name, and look around for a "Justin." It got to a point when even though I knew that most likely the teacher meant to call on me, I'd just ignore him/her and pretend like I hadn't a clue who Justin was. Then finally when I'd correct the teacher, everyone would giggle because I got called a boy's name. And you can't tell me it's potentially because my entire name didn't fit on the roll sheet, because my last name wasn't long enough to have the "e" cut off at the end of Justine. Anyone who knew me during the AIM days, will recall my handle was JustEEn422, because I was trying to prevent people from mispronouncing my name; but then people started forgetting how to spell my name. I had one Spanish teacher, who was German, and could not for the life of her, pronounce my name. When I had her for a second year in a row, she got my name right on the first day, and then went back to calling me Justin or sometimes Christine. I just never understood why people could say "Christine" properly, but not "Justine."
   
2. Christine: Speaking of "Christine," many times when introducing myself, people often confuse "Justine" with "Christine."
   
3. Would you like to go on a magic carpet ride?: Often when people forget my name, but remember it starts with a "J," they automatically resort to calling me "Jasmine." I'm not sure if that's a subconscious racist thing, because the only princesses I could ever be growing up were Pocahontas, Mulan, or Jasmine, or if people just remember Jasmine more easily than Justine? Is Jasmine even that common a name? I don't know any Jasmines...not in real life anyways.
   
4. "Justine" (aka "The Misfortunes of Virtue") by the Marquis de Sade: As I got older, the "witty" old creepers have the tendency to ask me if I've ever read this book, with a particular look and a smirk that frankly quite irks me. I do actually want to read the book, because after I read what the story is about, I thought it an interesting story. However, what creeps me out more when it comes to these creepy men, is that they seem to take pleasure in the fact that the protagonist, Justine, was raped and forced into sexual slavery, over and over. Of course, I didn't realize that at first, because I thought maybe it was some pornographic piece of literature, which is still creepy; but after reading what the plot of the story is about, it appears to be quite a tragic story.
5. Sad Songs Only: The only songs I know of about Justine, are sad ones. I remember as a kid I discovered Linda Ronstadt sang a song about "me" only to find, it was not such a happy song. The Righteous Brothers also have a song called, "Justine," and catchy as it is, Justine apparently didn't treat these brothers so right.
6. Souvenir Dilemma: The only countries I can find my name on souvenirs are French speaking countries. When I was a kid, all the kids in my family had a street sign with their name on it taped to their bedroom doors. My mom had to buy Justin and add an "e" to the end. I treasure that sign and my mom's love. She made sure I didn't get left out. Love you mom.

On the bright side, my husband is French and can't seem to pronounce, "Justin" properly, but can say, "Justine" :). Also, my patron saint is pretty cool--Santa Giustina of Padua. As someone who grew up playing Shakespeare, all those Venetian towns hold a sort of special and mystical place in my heart. Not to mention, she was a pretty badass martyr--righteous to the bone and oft depicted with a unicorn to symbolize her chastity.

Despite all the woes of being named Justine, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

BIG LOVE & HUGS

Love,

Justine