The reason the Titanic's tragic collision on April 14, 1912 was so devastating was because the iceberg the ship hit appeared small, but was in fact extremely large. This is a property icebergs share: only about ten percent of the entire surface of the structure is observable above the water in which it is immersed. My favorite word is `iceberg' and although in relation to the Titanic situation the word has negative connotations, it is in fact a very meaningful word.

The primary property of icebergs is that only a small part of its overall size is apparent at first glance. This is the main reason I love the word: because it describes me. When someone first meets me, there is no way they are going to discover who I really am. Though I can make friends easily, it takes investigation, conversation, and time to realize the depth of Nishant Patel. The reason icebergs tend to float so deep in water is because their densities are larger than that of normal ice, since the water with which that ice is made contains a variety of minerals. I contain a variety of qualities within me as well. This adds to the complexity with which I identify myself.

While standing upon a glacier in Alaska's Glacier Bay about fifty feet from my tour group, I observed the immense size and beauty of nature's oldest natural structures. I watched a large part of the glacier I was standing on break off and land in the freezing ocean. I wondered how such magnificent objects could be so dangerous, so mysterious and so intriguing.. I knew that there truly was much more to icebergs than I had ever thought.