Just Two Words

I took a walk on the beach today, and as I scanned the shoreline for beach glass, I considered a question that has nagged me since Ann Garvin of Tall Poppy Writers posed it in her E-newsletter: 

If you could describe yourself in two words, what would they be?

One of the many tasks a writer struggles with and strives to champion is word choice. Deciding on the right term to convey meaning while staying true to the tone of a piece is an exercise in patience, and trial and error. Finishing a document where word selections are in synch with theme is a lot like completing a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. The exhilaration of locking in the last fragment makes the expended time and effort immensely satisfying. 

When Ann Garvin threw out the notion of picking two self-descriptors, I contemplated the idea before biting into the challenge this morning. And I realized right away that it’s much easier to describe other people than it is yourself. So, in thinking about how I might attach two labels to myself, I first pondered how to sum up people I know. 

For example, I considered my adoptive father, a man who my family dubbed “Chief,” and someone who I’ve written about before. Chief’s personality made landing on two words a slam dunk. Dad was funny and kind. Likewise, because I’ve reflected upon and written about my mother-in-law, Mary Lou, it was easy to deem her: educated and wise. And most folks who knew him would concur that my late husband, Steve, was intelligent and honest, almost to a fault. 

The task of coming up with two words to describe oneself is much harder than labeling others. Because while we know ourselves better than we do anyone else, our vast array of life experiences and personal growth makes deciding on two simple words uber complicated. How others view us depends on how and when we knew them, where we were in our personal development, and what we might have shared with them or let them see. I might describe you as fun-loving and quirky because I met you on vacation, but in your home environment I could  perceive you as serious and deliberate. 

So… How would I describe myself in two words?

I’m going to cheat at this a bit and come at it from a unique angle. As I pointed out above, it’s easier to describe others. I’m an identical twin and my sister and I are eerily similar in attitude and values. We share character traits, too. So, I assembled a list of self-descriptors by ruminating about my identical twin sister. Here’s what I came up with: kind, supportive, compassionate, hardworking, clever, athletic, resilient, persistent, stubborn, creative, responsible, detailed, honest, intelligent, insightful, diplomatic, savvy, caring, and conscientious. 

When I began Ann Garvin’s little exercise this morning while walking the beach, I had no idea that culling a broad list of terms would be so laborious. The challenge ate up the better part of an hour. I considered the qualities and attributes I ascribe to my twin and lumped them into categories. I sifted and sorted and settled on a final choice. Like a winning Jeopardy contestant, a proud grin lit up my face as I announced to a slew of seagulls that interesting and intuitive best describe my twin sister and me.

Why interesting? That choice may seem like a benign catchall, but it also connotes complicated, which is to say there is so much more that lies beneath the surface. To me, interesting signifies fascinating, noteworthy, and thought-provoking. I see those qualities in my sister and so by default they pertain to me, too.

Because I’m a writer and I like alliteration, and since I’d already settled on interesting, I hunted for another “I” word. At first, I chose insightful, but I cast it aside because insightful isn’t all of what I intended. I needed a word that also folded in my sister’s concern and support of those she cares about.  I like intuitive because it infers compassion and emotional intelligence. 

I’m satisfied with my final word choices: interesting and intuitive. They do the job I wanted in describing my sister and me.

And now dear reader, it is your turn. Give it a go. Do some reflection and see if you can narrow the list of all the many wonderful things that you are to just two simple words. Later, you might challenge your spouse or partner or extended family members to describe you and see where that leads. In the process, please give kudos to Ann Garvin for getting this clever conversation started.

Wherever this post takes you, ENJOY! 

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