Indubitably

In honor of a new year, I’ve decided to look closely at something we don’t think much about in our day to day lives through the format of a college supplement essay in 300 words or less: “What is your favorite word, and why?”

I’ve always had a tendency to favor squares over circles, the inclination is natural. The ease of drawing a line trumps the difficulties of trying to get that curve just right.  A square represents a distinct line drawn straight through the sand, unlike the curves of a circle that allows for some faltering.

These clear-cut lines manifest into my favorite word: indubitably, patently evident or certain; unquestionable. The strong sense of self-embodied by indubitably has taken me a bit of time to develop. As I child, the curves in my personality outnumbered the lines, my “own” choices were composed majorly of others’ opinions rather than my own. However, as I grew older the curves transitioned into lines. I was forced to weave through challenging situations while relying on a continuously calibrating moral compass to make the final call.

Ancient geometers described the process I’ve experienced in mathematical terms as squaring the circle.  It’s the challenge of constructing a square with the area of a circle in a certain number of steps. However, in my case I’ve needed an infinite number of tries to smooth out my circles and reach the status of indubitable. Life experiences both past and present have presented themselves as opportunities to take on the challenge of squaring the circle. Overtime the circles begin to develop sharp edges, just as I developed the confidence to reply, “Indubitably.”

Indubitably. A word that’s pronunciation aligns so perfectly with its definition. It entails a state of mind that I continuously reach for, hoping to become one of the few squares in a geometric plane filled with circles.