What is Your Word?

I am in the midst of reading Eat, Pray, Love, which is crazy good. I was a bit dubious going in, because I wasn't sure how much spirituality-talk was going to happen (I tend to find that sanctimonious, depending, especially since I am untrained at meditation and when I do try and meditate, it just makes me nervous). But it is mostly not sanctimonious--it's about life getting really gross and having your heart broken in many ways and then working to make things right for yourself again, because that is what we all deserve. Balance. Pleasure. Meaning. Good food. Good friends. Travel, if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so. Happiness. Also, it made me hate Elizabeth Gilbert a little bit (even though she seems like a cool person) because I wanted to go to Rome so, so badly after reading her Italy section.

Anyway, there is a chapter in the Italy section where she and one of her Rome friends discuss how cities have one word which describes them or sums them up. He claims that Rome's is SEX, and the Vatican's is POWER. Gilbert thinks New York City's is ACHIEVE and Los Angeles's is SUCCEED. Her Swedish friend thinks Stockholm's is probably CONFORM. (Gilbert, 103-104).

My brain loves this idea. I spent most of my commute today germinating on this. What would my hometown be? I settled on BEHAVE. Although, since my hometown was founded by Swedish and Italian immigrants, maybe some combination of SEX and CONFORM would be apt (oh, it would definitely be apt). I discussed this with a friend, who thought her hometown's was probably WALLOW. What about Geneva? Maybe LEARN, or THINK. At this time of year, VERDANT. Or CONTRADICTORY. The house where I lived with my friends? LOVELY, or maybe RIDICULOUS. My parents house? WACKY. HOME. COMFORTING.

And what about Brooklyn? Today--SLUGGISH (my bus was stopped behind a semi for 10 minutes this morning). BLOSSOMING (well, the botanical gardens, anyway). HUMMING. CRABBY. I was reading Eat, Pray, Love over the weekend on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and was trying to wrap my head around meditating for 5 hours a day and how group meditation and all the energy might be able to help you commune with god(dess) (or whatever you want to call it.) Needless to say, I could not imagine how anyone meditates in Brooklyn, because I was having trouble concentrating on reading with everyone squawking around me. My neighborhood's would be COLORFUL. Or LIVELY.

Not all the words are good, though. What of those places or people that are DESPERATE, DANGEROUS, SAD, or DULL? Maybe though, even if you are those words, you wouldn't pick them for yourself. I feel like those are only words that others might label you as (you probably don't think you're DULL, but maybe I would. Or you might think I'm DULL. Very likely, actually.) I found myself doing that on the subway today--"guy in the suit. PRETENTIOUS. nurse. TIRED. man with the goatee. ENIGMATIC."

As for my word? Tricky, that. WANDERER, ROVER? Maybe, but also NESTER, HOMEBODY. Definitely LISTENER, but also definitely TALKER. SEEKER. STUMBLER (literally--over curbs, down stairs, and figuratively--into ideas, out of ideas, whatever). AWKWARD (yup). CLASSY (when the mood strikes). Mostly, though--CONTENT.

What is your word? What is your town's word? Do you wish your words were different?