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People Share The One Compliment They Received That's Always Stayed With Them

Very few things can brighten your day as nicely or as suddenly as a compliment. Although many of us often feel like we're simply gliding through life and that no one ever really notices us, many people do and they may even think rather highly of us, believe it or not!

After Redditor DanTheBMan asked the online community, "What compliment did you receive years ago that you still think about?"

Read on –– you'll find plenty to smile about.


"She stopped by..."

The most memorable compliment came from the widow of the deceased man directly after his funeral service.

She stopped by the organ console before proceeding to the cemetery. With a gentle smile, this lovely lady said:

"I just want to thank you for the uplifting music you played for my husband's funeral. You turned what could've been a very solemn, sad occasion into a true celebration of his life."

About a week later, the church received a substantial check from her for the music program and for us to perform Mozart's Requiem, with orchestra, in her husband's memory.

Back2Bach

"When I saw her..."

While in middle school, I had this one teacher who I was very, very close with because she helped me cope with my mental illness. I talked to her every single day, and once I was in high school, we maintained contact until I was a sophomore. (She became the principal of a new school)

Freshman year of high school, I was in a mental hospital due to panic attacks that were so crippling I became suicidal. I really, really missed my teacher, but one day she surprised me at the hospital.

When I saw her, I started sobbing. I gave her a big hug, and we sat down to have a conversation. At one point while we were talking she said "I am so proud of you". I was confused because I was in the hospital for admitting I had a suicide plan. When I asked her why, she said "You reached out for help. You are so brave, and the strongest person I know."

I miss that woman so much, and I appreciate her for everything she did for me.

DatWeirdo04

"I used to bring baked goods..."

I used to bring baked goods and dinners over to my elderly neighbor when he couldn't out of the house any longer. Prior to this, he would actually come to my house for dinner. Unfortunately, dementia was overtaking him near the end. Once when I had brought dinner over he asked me if I knew the lady next door. He told me she's an "excellent cook." I told him I did know her! So nice, still makes me smile.

ghostdogs2

"Every time I try..."

Every time I try to contribute to conversations, I feel like everyone in talks over and disregards me. Because of this, I make it my personal goal to give the person speaking/trying to be heard my full attention. One day, my friend was telling a story and no one was paying attention. She stopped short and said,

"Every time I talk, I look at you because I know you're listening to me and want to hear what I have to say. You don't know how much that means to me."

ChocolateMushu

"I was walking down a major street..."

I was walking down a major street in a big city, with a big, blond mohawk, and enjoying not getting the glares I was used to in my smaller town, when a carload of girls drove by and one leaned out the window and screamed "Sexy hair, baby!"

zomboromcom

"The most popular..."

Our MS and HS were in the same building (small school). The most popular senior girl was walking down the hall talking to her friend and stopped to look 7the grade me in the eye and told me she liked my scrunchie. Literally meant to much to me and since then I've tried to go out of my way to compliment people - friends, colleagues and strangers - when I think of a compliment.

hausishome

"A girl in elementary school..."

A girl in elementary school said my eyes were pretty. But since she "hated my guts" she said she wanted to scoop out my eyes before she killed me.

She was always fun to chat with on bus ride home.

After that, I was told that I was smart by my sergeant when I was in the army. I was 19 at the time and all I did was answer a common sense question and he said I should try to become an NCO.

Those have been the only two meaningful compliments I've gotten in my life. I'm 28 now...

BillOReilly_Cyrus

"Obviously..."

Half compliment half reward. I held open some door for an old white lady at a restaurant when I was like 9 or 10. Cause like why wouldn't you? But apperently she later asked the waiter to ask for me and explained that she rarely get the door held opened for her. Called me a nice child and gave me a $100 bill.

Obviously the reward was nice (iirc I think i bought a couple games). But what stuck with me was the fact that she rarely seen it done. From that point I decided being nice was the way to be, if only for a fleeting moment in people lives.

extremelight

"My teacher said..."

My teacher said that she loves my smile. And she said that when I was a very insecure person.

idk2305

"I used to obsess..."

I think for me it was getting compliments about having nice teeth and someone saying my teeth were "really white."

I've always been insecure about my teeth. As a kid they were really yellow, I guess from all the sodas and reluctance to brush and all the food coloring and all that jazz. I remember being insecure about it as early as 3rd grade but it got worse in 6th when working with a classmate.

We were working well together and joking around and as I laughed he just went deadpan and said "man your teeth are yellow." Not a joke. Not banter. Just an incredulous observation.

I used to obsess over it but I've calmed down a bit. Getting that compliment helped. My teeth don't need to be perfect. I think I just needed to cancel out that experience. I'm fine with average teeth. Having a coworker that didn't know me well at the time just unsolicited and incredulously be like "man your teeth are white how do you do it" was a friggin elixir.

Compliments can be powerful.

jjaekkak

"A friend saw me without glasses..."

A friend saw me without my glasses for the first time and she said that I had really pretty eyes. Then she asked if she could draw me some time. Artists do a great job of making people feel great about themselves!

Terwin95

"At my first job..."

At my first job after college, I was chatting one day with some coworkers and my supervisor. We were talking about ACT/SAT scores and college admissions for some reason. I mentioned that I had had no interest in attending a fancy school like Harvard, but I had almost applied just to see what happened. My supervisor looked at me and said, "You should have. I bet you would have gotten in. You're so smart." I was blown away.

purplelikeme

"An obviously distraught woman..."

An obviously distraught woman with a toddler was in front of me at grocery store. She was a few bucks short, being more impatient than generous, I said I'd make up the difference. The lady thanked me and left. The cashier said "I see you in here all the time, I always think you look like a nice person."

Made my day.

thetruthbtold957

"I was working at Walgreens..."

I was working at Walgreens and ringing this little old lady out when she said "You have very nice ears." The sheer absurdity made it stick with me this whole time.

chillout1

"I was walking to an event..."

I was walking to an event dressed in a seersucker suit and bow tie. I passed a guy on a street who said to his friend about me, "check this guy out, he's dressed fly as a mothaf*ckah!"

All time favorite compliment.

13374L

"When I was 14..."

When I was 14 I had some serious confidence issues. My closest friend at the time said, "I know you will refuse to accept any compliment, so I'll say your work is utter and total trash. Do you like that?" Of course I didn't, so she gave me an actual compliment. Of course I didn't fully accept it, but it was better received than most compliments given at the time.

ilikeicing454

"We were all just hanging out..."

We were all just hanging out one day and my ex's best friend told me I looked great - I had lost about 80 lbs at that point and the ex had never once said anything about my change. Really made me think about how much he didn't want me to be healthier, he liked having someone who was miserable with him.

isthisforcats

"Later I heard her..."

One of the first times I opened the department at work, my manager came in late but was surprised to see I had it under control.

Later I heard her tell another department manager, 'I'm really glad I've got her on my team' about me!

dms01

"It took me aback..."

"Your Facebook is like a rainbow."

When I asked my brother what he meant by that, he said that my circle of friends were so diverse: straight, LGBTQ, caucasian, black, Asian, Muslims, Christians, agnostics, atheists....

It took me aback because I never even thought about it. It just was.

That was more than ten years ago and it still brings a smile to my face.

AVeneerForMyTurtle

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.