…ideally one that was both genuine and that you had the confidence and self awareness to interpret as kind. And for bonus points, what’s one you’ve given?
I’m thinking back to the guy in group therapy years ago who told me he always thought of people who swore as not knowing any better words, but that I obviously knew better words and just also swore and even used them artistically and that’s just really stuck with me. Sometimes I wonder how much of my self esteem has suffered not just because I’ve been told not to brag, but also because I’m extremely weird so the compliments I do receive often reflect that.
My bonus one (and I’m not sure how well he was able to take it) was that one of my fellow psych nurses was frequently and obviously terrified any time shit hit the fan, but that somehow still he’d never once failed to have my back. He’d be stuttering the whole way through an incident but I’d walk out of the med room with both halves of a B52 and he’d take one of the syringes without a second thought. He was literally the epitome of “courage isn’t not being scared, it’s being willing to face it.” I should find a nice presentation of that quote somewhere to send him because I’m not sure I phrased it well at the time.
At a gas station, go in to grab some of my favorite brand of chewing gum (Original flavor Trident), and the clerk said “You look like you should be famous.” I thanked him, and agreed.
At the grocery store, a cashier woman told me I look like Justin Timberlake. I’ve gotten that one a few times, and I take it as a compliment.
and one last one, I was on vacation with my girlfriend at the time, and we found this bar in South Carolina that had a big dancefloor, a great DJ, and almost nobody dancing. I love dancing, so I went out and started grooving to the music, just slipping between random dance moves, having fun because there was like nobody there to judge me. After dancing for a while, I’m about to go back to my waiting GF, when a pair stop me, a guy and gal. They said I was a great dancer, and asked what dancing school I attended? I told them I’ve never gone to a dancing school, I just do what feels natural.
That last one is definitely my favorite, though 😊