According to the Federation Standard thesaurus in the LCARS database, the words “tenacious” and “stubborn” are synonymous.  I guess that makes sense – all my life, the people around me have described me as one or the other.  But in my experience, they don’t mean quite the same thing.

“Tenacious” is the word reporters used in the profiles they wrote on me when I won the Daystrom Prize at twenty.  It’s the word engineering professors and commanding officers use when talking about my work habits.  It’s the word my parents use when they tell the story of how I first decided to attend Starfleet Academy at age 4. “Tenacious” is a thing I’m called with affection, admiration, and sometimes even awe.

“Stubborn” is its evil twin.  It’s what my flight control professor called me in those final, desperate days before I realized the hard way I would never be a pilot.  It’s what the Academy Commandant called me after I nearly died on my survival test rather than fail.  It’s what my parents call me when I won’t give in.  It’s what Rachel, J.Q., and even Icheb himself called me when I refused to break it off with him to pacify our Borg-hating classmates. 

“Stubborn” is the flip side of “tenacious,” the other edge of the knife.  Both are equally sharp, but used for different things.  When people call me “tenacious,” it’s with a tone of voice that suggests I’m slaying dragons.  When they call me stubborn, they make it sound like I’m cutting myself.