My mom sucks at giving compliments. There. I said it. I know 50 of you guys are going to forward this article to her and rat me out, so let me explain. She means well and in her mind she truly is giving a compliment. She just words things terribly, like she has this thing for pairing a compliment with a "constructive criticism." To my mom, saying something like "you're so beautiful, you'd be an absolute stunner if you lost weight" is just her telling you that she thinks you're beautiful - and have the potential to be woman-in-the-red-dress-Matrix-scene-head-turningly-distracting kind of gorgeous. All compliments! To the outside world she totally called you fat.
So I went most of my life never really hearing compliments when my mother thought she was giving them all the time. Then it happened, in ninth grade during the peak of my awkward era, I overheard her tell one of her friends that she loved the way I sang and that she knew I stayed up for hours after she sent me to bed because I would sing to myself for hours at night, but she never came in and told me to go to bed because she loved getting her own little concert.
Sure, my mom is biased - but she's also one of those painfully honest brown moms who absolutely would have told her friends if my singing voice was pure caca, ya know?
Moms are so pure, you guys.
One Reddit user asked:
What's the most kind/beautiful thing you've overheard about yourself by accident?
And yup, it's exactly as warm and fuzzy as you think it is. So come on, guys. Let's do this. Brace yourselves, we're aiming straight for your feels.
Pretty Hard Not To
I don't have a lot of coworkers (about 13 altogether and I only work directly with 4-5). But when I was in the break room I heard a few of them talking about a coworker they don't like, saying she's rude to everyone. And one of them said "She's pretty nice to [whatever my name is]." And the others said "Well, everyone likes [whatever my name is], pretty hard not to." It was hard to walk back in there and not be like LOVE YOU TOO THANKS GUYS!
- merlot-o
That Fire
My dad doesn't really compliment people. He's the quiet type that hides behind jokes and sarcasm. However, I once heard him talk to an old friend of his at a Christmas party, saying; "That's my kid right there. Pure rock n' roll, just like his old man. Never gives up, just keeps steaming on like a freight train. I tell ya, some kids just have that fire, you know?"
The World's Expert
Giphy
This isn't my story, but it's my favorite.
My college professor researched Egyptian mummified cats. He was back at the British museum looking at some cats and they had a staff shift while he was still in there. He started talking to the new guy on his way out and the guy says, "if you're interested in mummified cats, you should talk to [professor's name]. He's the world's expert in mummified cats." My professor was speechless for a moment and then said "I'm [professor's name]"
And that's how he learned he was the world's expert.
Good Job
Was home from college and my parents thought I was asleep. Heard them complimenting each other on how they "did a good job" raising me and how I had turned out really well.
Worth The Effort
I had a girl over (first time dating in years) and my roommate (female, super close friend) was there as well. Heard my roommate say "I know he's shy and a little awkward at first but give it a shot, he's super sweet and really funny once he's comfortable, he's worth the effort". Gave me a huge much needed boost since I struggle with confidence and usually don't like myself.
The Conference Call
Was on a conference call with one of our clients and they didn't know I was on it. I hadn't said anything since I was just taking notes. The client went: "It's a shame he's not on this call as I'd like him to know that he's positively changed the working life of many people and his work was much appreciated." I had to walk away and cry as it was my last day.
Happy Laugh
I was joking around with some acquaintances at a party and somebody got me with a really funny joke. I started giggling like a madman and I heard a girl on the other end of the room turn to my sister and say "I just love his laugh, It's so happy!" and she responded "I know!"
That still makes me smile when I remember.
The Honest Hottie
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Once, at a drive through, I was given an extra $20 bill change by accident. I gave it back to the clerk, and as I drove away I heard her turn to her co-worker and say "What an honest guy!"
Then I heard her co-worker say "yeah- he was really hot, too!"
I blushed so hard the whole way home with my greasy cheeseburger.
Mom Compliments Are The Best
When my Mom defends me over things I didn't think she cared about or notice. Like my weight training and powerlifting. All my siblings think it's unproductive and a waste of time because it doesn't fit into their small minded world of what a stay at home Mom should be doing.
I've heard her tell them how important it is to me and how much I love it because it's something I'm good at. I've always felt like an idiot, a screw up and s loser who could never finish anything I started. This meant a lot to me. I've heard her say stuff along the lines of somehow finding time to train and time to be a great Mom. That meant a lot because if you're a Mom, you'd understand when I say, I never feel like a good Mom even though you know damn well you're doing great. Mom guilt sucks.
I've lost 135 pounds and am on track for having a state record in all 3 squat, bench and deadlift in February. That's a fucking personal accomplishment to me. Waste of time? I'd like to tell my brothers and sisters to go jump in a lake....or go to church or go shopping or whatever the hell you do.
The Teacher Who Changed Everything
I was hospitalized for six months after a suicide attempt as a teenager. I had to go to school in the hospital. I love languages and every week a French teacher would come in and give me French lessons. She gave me an essay to write for homework and I wrote about my illness. I overheard her telling my nurse that it was a joy to correct my work. It might not seem like much, but to a 17 year old girl who felt totally worthless, it meant the whole world. I wish I could tell that teacher that I'm almost finished my degree in modern languages now.
Must Be Fate
I'm a 19-year-old virgin, no girlfriend, haven't dated anyone since last year, so I kinda feel like shit sometimes
Recently met a girl, we've been on three dates.
On our 3rd date she gave me her phone to show me something on her twitter, as I scroll down I accidentally saw a tweet from her talking about me as her crush, that we both like a particular thing and that must be fate/sign of destiny.
I acted like I didn't see sh!t, scrolled up and gave her phone back. I'm aware that being on a 3rd date means that she kinda like me, but this really comforted me and gave me a huge boost. I hope that we'll end up as a couple as I really like her.
- Hydreo
Art Critic
In my freshman year of high school, everyone put up art installments around the school for a project. Mine involved drawing these floating heads that I spent hours on though I was still really hesitant about putting it up because I didn't think it was good enough.
A few days later, I remember these older girls walked past it and one said that it scared her because she thought it was an actual person for a moment and the other said it was the best project in the school. As an insecure little pansy b*tch, that honestly gave me so much confidence and helped me feel a lot better about my art.
I was too shy to be like "Hey, that's me!" but this is something that's stuck with me for a while and makes me feel a little better from time to time.
- starsyph
All The Family He Needs
My best friends father, who was like my own father before he passed away recently. I had overheard him say "...he's a great man, way better than his dad. And if his dad can't see that then fuck him, he doesn't need him. We're all the family he needs." This was a man who wasn't opt to share his thoughts, or feelings, on the subject of my family, so it was nice to hear that I wasn't a burden to him and that he believed that my own father was a fool.
- Chrio
The Literature Assignment
I'm not sure if this counts, but I think it does. My literature class had an assignment to write a letter to someone who had affected our lives and what we wanted to say to them. We could have the letters given to them after the assignment if we wanted. After the assignment, the teacher gave me a letter from one of my friends that said how much he appreciated me as a friend and how I inspired him to have a good attitude about problems. I didn't know that anyone really even noticed or liked me at that point, and I almost cried.
Just Like Grandpa
Giphy
My parents lived with my family for a couple months, because to make a long story short, my dad got hurt at work and wouldn't be able to go back to work for at least several months.
I helped guide them through their financial situation, move out of their place into mine, and helped them make a new budget they had confidence in while my brothers and I fixed and cleaned their house for sale - all while working full time and having two kids.
My parents were a bit stressed out and very nervous, but happy someone (my brothers did quite a lot too, especially at their house, which is about 40 minutes away) could help take care of them.
Their temporary home was a big room right next to our kitchen. One day, they left the door to their room open and I overheard my mom say, "Of our three kids, they remind me most of my dad."
Which really hit me because my grandpa was a wonderfully generous person and a humble leader in every sense. He also became a self-taught engineer for a major Midwest pharmacy tech company. I named my son after him.
This 2 For 1 Compliment
In college, we were giving presentations in this one class and I gave my presentation last. After class I was in the back of a packed elevator and I overheard a girl from my class say to her friend "that last presentation was honestly pretty interesting" and her friend said "who's presentation? Oh, the one that the girl with the really good jawline gave?"
A good presentation AND a killer jawline?!? Still kind of coasting on that one a couple years later.
Princess
I was in the bathroom at the department store fixing my makeup and self. I had had a terrible day and as I was leaving, a little girl with her grandma saw me, and I overheard her say "wow that girl looks like a princess!!" Made my entire day :)
Ranting And Raving
I accidentally overheard someone describe my ranting as an orgasm for their brain.
It has been something I grab from my pocket in times of low self esteem. It felt so good to hear!!
A Christmas Angel
I was working retail and this very old lady came in. It was around Christmas time and she said that her daughter wanted a specific bracelet we sold. I asked her if she had a picture or knew what it looked like. She pulls out her flip phone and shows me a pixelated picture of a bracelet that I know we sold out of that morning. As I told her, she was heart broken. However, we can order items from our store on iPads and send it directly to her house.
As I pulled up the bracelet she wanted on the iPad, her face lit up. When I told her we can have it shipped to her house in 2 days, free shipping... she cried.
And to top it off we had a 40% off coupon that I applied to her order. As I told her she was good to go, she bawled and hugged me so tight. As she was leaving, still choked up she told her husband, who was in a wheelchair waiting for her at the entrance, that I was a Christmas angel.
I will never forget that. Sometimes you just need to give your time, attention and a little patience to make someone's Christmas!
"She's Actually Incredible"
When I was in high school, I was the lead in the school play. We were getting ready for the debut show that night, and I saw that I had a voicemail from my best friend. When I listened to it, I realized that she had just pocket dialed me by accident. I wasn't going to listen to it because it was just the sound of her driving with the radio on, but then I heard our other friend say "Is she actually good at acting? Have you seen her act before?" To which my friend replied "Oh my god, she's actually incredible. I've seen her do performances where I've honestly been brought to tears. Just wait until you see her. You will be blown away."
It just warmed my heart that I overheard a conversation that I was never supposed to hear, but it was my friend saying the most lovely and supportive things about me. I never forgot that.
Every now and then, though, you hear about an encounter with something that shouldn't be there. Sometimes it's an escaped or released exotic animal; hurricanes have destroyed countless wildlife enclosures and some people don't realize how big that cool pet is really going to get and choose to set it loose.
Sometimes it's a "skunk ape."
Florida's version of a 'bigfoot' sounds a little easier to believe when you factor in the huge number of primate enclosures that have been destroyed over the decades. We have established populations of things like monkeys, pythons, and boars now.
Why not gorillas or orangutans? They're both tall upright hair covered primates that might match the description.
Except skunk ape stories go back way before zoos and the exotic pet industry.
Reddit user cruzer58b asked:
"Those of you that TRULY believe you have seen a cryptid (Bigfoot, jersey devil, etc.) what’s your story?"
South Florida isn't the only place the wild gets weird. OBVIOUSLY.
Look at what these Reddit users have experienced.
The Thing Hunting Orcas
Marine Life Beauty GIF by OceanaGiphy"I was on a ferry for a school softball trip, off Kodiak island AK, 2014. I was 18."
"A whole bunch of us had snuck up to the deck around 11pm to watch the waves and generally be teenagers on a boat without supervision. It was 11pm in May in Alaska so the sun was thinking about setting but it was still bright outside."
"So we’re just doing our thing and we notice a pod of orcas swimming with the ferry’s wake, which is very cool but not, like, unusual."
"If you’re familiar with the dimensions of an orca fin you know they’re about 4-6 ft in height and look like big black spikes coming out of the water. Being Alaskan teenagers, we were very familiar. This is important."
"Orcas travel and hunt in pods of anywhere between 15-40 whales. Apex predators. The beautiful demon murderers of the sea."
"Total a**holes. Top of the food chain."
"So we saw this pod of orcas swimming with the boat, counted around 10- 15, with some babies scattered in there. Very fun to watch for the good 30 minutes to all go by. We tried to get pictures, but it was just dark enough that our shitty 2014 phone cameras weren't much good."
"Another 30 or 40 minutes go by and we’ve all pretty much sobered up and it’s about to finally get dark and we’re cold and sleepy and about ready to go in."
"We haven’t seen an orca for like half an hour, and then one of the girls spots another one and points it out. So we all turn and look at the whale's dorsal fin - but one dorsal fin is immediately followed by another, and another, and another, and then two more, and then two more after that, in two separate rows, and they’re taller, by a LOT, and jagged, like some have whole chunks torn out of them, and they’re all 8-10 feet high."
"And all these fins are attached to ONE creature."
"We can just barely see its back slicing through the water, covered in these rows of spikes, and it just. Keeps. Coming. This thing is like 20 or 30 feet from the ferry, running parallel to it, and we are all transfixed."
"This wasn't a small group - there’s like 9 or 10 of us and no one is saying a word because we’ve all turned to look at a whale and we are all now watching something that is like, horrifically, terrifyingly obviously NOT a whale."
"Someone tries to take a picture but it’s too dark at this point and the only reason we can see this thing is the light cast from ferry portholes, which is a take as old as time when it comes to things that you REALLY f*cking wish you had a picture of."
"But we all stand there completely scared stiff and in awe and we watch this thing just KEEP surfacing for a good 6 or 7 minutes which means that whatever it was was LONG. Like..... 60 or 70 feet long."
"Or longer."
"And covered in enormous spikes. Spikes that looked like they’d won thousands of battles with god knows what."
"It took what felt like an eternity for any of us to say anything after the last of it disappeared back into the strait."
"I mean if you and like ten of your friends had just all seen something that all science had DEFINITELY pointed to not existing, and you had all seen the same exact thing, AND it was very OBVIOUSLY trailing, nay, HUNTING, not one but 15 something APEX F*CKIN PREDATORS, what do you even say to break that silence?"
"That’s the thing that eats me about the whole thing, is it was hunting. It was following them. It was literally hunting about 60 tons of toothy, angry, intelligent apex predator."
"Every once in a while one of us will hit another one of us up and check in, like 'Do remember this? Was I hallucinating? Did we all see the same, insane, worldview-melting, terrifying thing that night?' And the reason I KNOW we did is because none of us talked about it."
"Not during the trip, not after, not to any of our friends because how the f*ck do you even tell someone about something like that?"
"Now we have almost 10 years between us and that night I assume some of them have probably told people, I know I tell people, because I’ve seen a LOT like that in Alaska and I’m That B*tch."
"And also because there’s a very rich history among native Alaskans of a Something that lives and hunts in the waters around Kodiak and it’s important to tell its story because someday it’s gonna eat a little too much plastic and no one will ever watch it hunt a pod of orcas terrified from a boat ever again."
- slobone
The Cutest Cryptid
Arts And Crafts Love GIF by NickelodeonGiphy"One night I was driving home at around 2 AM and this tiny, tiny white creature (probably as tall as a Pringles can, though maybe a bit smaller) walked across the road in front of my car."
"I hadn't thought about this in a while but here's what I can remember: The bottoms of its "legs" ended in what looked like flowy bits or ribbons, and it was almost translucent. I could almost see the road THROUGH the creature."
"It walked at a kind of jaunty pace, just like a person might walk. The best way to describe it is like that super steppy walk that the dwarves sometimes do in Snow White, or Mickey Mouse does sometimes."
"I slowed my car down but was afraid to stop it completely, and the thing disappeared as my car went 'through' it."
"Honestly it was so f*cking cute that I wasn't even scared, but I was shaken up by having seen something like this."
"I couldn't believe what I saw, so I called my then-boyfriend and frantically described the creature. He told me that it sounded like the Fresno Nightcrawler, and when I got home and looked it up, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE."
"I had never heard about them before. I do not live in California, not even close. I still have no clue what it was."
- Langoustina
The Swimmer
Michael C Hall Night GIF by DexterGiphy"I used to go running and take a break at a train bridge in Iowa city when I went to school there."
"I did a lot of night runs. Sometimes, only after dark, I'd hear something swimming around at that train bridge. Maybe human or deer sized."
"One time, It was late and I heard it again. But this time, I could see something dark on the water. Looked like a profile of a very large head."
"I said 'hello, someone there?' "
"It stopped dead still and looked at me. It was dark but I could tell it was looking right at me. This went on for 30 seconds to a minute. It then went under, and I never saw or heard it again."
"I told myself it was a person swimming. But why not say hi back? Also, where did it go under to?""It was a slow river, I would have heard it surfacing or getting out of the water unless it went over a hundred feet."
"That's the closest thing to a cryptid I've seen and known about."
"Some people are saying beavers and otters. I've seen river otters (but not in the US), it was far too big to be a normal sized one. I've never seen the 6 ft ones, and I don't think they live anywhere near Iowa."
"It was much too big to be a beaver too, I see those all the time, and they're usually denoted by telltale signs such as dams and chewed trees. Also, I've never seen beavers active at night only during the day."
"I think it was probably just a person, maybe a homeless person who wanted to not be bothered by me."
"As I said, that's the closest I've come to seeing a cryptid, I know the original post asked for people that are 100% sure, but it was late at night and it felt appropriate to tell that story."
- orangutanglibrarian
Orangutan/Lemur Hybrid
orangutan GIFGiphy"When I was 14 or so in 2003 I saw what looked like an orangutan/lemur hybrid watching me from the trees."
"When it realized I was looking at it, it took off into the trees and disappeared. This was in Western NC, nothing like that should have been around here."
"For a few years I looked for articles about someone’s escaped exotic pet but never found anything. Eventually just wrote it off."
"Years later I heard a Lore episode about the Pukwudgie and I immediately got chills because the description matched what I saw. I’m still not sure what happened."
"Few months ago I was dumb enough to wander into the same patch of woods. I got nailed by a rock and when I looked up I saw a small outline ducking around like it was watching my reaction. Again, when it recognized I was looking at it, it took off."
"I don’t know what happened but I also don’t really plan on going back."
- kookooforpococuffs
Hopefully A Bear
red dead redemption bear GIFGiphy"About 16 years ago I lived in the rural areas of Kansas, town was about 6 miles from my house."
"At night while I was waiting for sleep I stared out of my window and look out into the darkness. Normally I would see owls, possums, racoons, coyote, etc all just minding their business doing animal stuff."
"And I could always hear them. Loud and clear."
"One night as I am trying to get to bed I watch and listen for the wildlife and on this night there was none to be heard or seen. Being a kid I thought nothing of it."
"Until I saw a HUGE black figure moving on four legs."
"I could swear I had seen a brown bear this thing was THAT massive. Except we lived in midwest Kansas. We have no bears."
"Cows and horses are too tall and not wide enough for what I saw. Plus our neighbors all had cattle so I was familiar with what they look like at night."
"People suggested it could have been one of the massive dogs like a malamute or leonberger or something. Maybe it could have been, but they are still too small for what I saw."
"Never saw it again"
- Staticshivyasuo
"There are bears in Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, And a bit in Oklahoma. Kansas is in the historic range of black bears as well."
"I don't think it's a stretch that one may have wandered in from a surrounding state."
- sarraceniaflava
"This would relieve years of stress and the itch of the unknown if I could get confirmation that it was, it is how I always make it out in my head. A really big bear."
- Staticshivyasuo
The Big Blue
trailer GIF by Jurassic WorldGiphy"Been deep sea fishing a few times. You NEVER see schools of fish so far out, but once we saw this massive shadow moving FAST. It couldn't have been a whale, they don't move like that. The skipper stared at this mass of blue with me for about 20 seconds before it was gone and swore it was a megalodon. i'm not convinced but I have never seen a school of fish that far out in the ocean ever."
- uncareingbear
"It could be a large species of squid such as Colossal or Giant Squid. They are found world wide. It's odd they would come to the surface, but it's not to weird."
"Other options are Sunfish, Oarfish, or Large Shark."
- kazeespada
"I’m a firm believer there has to be some kind of megalodon or something out there, we just don’t know enough about the ocean"
- cruzer58b
When It Looked At Chandler
scary jack the giant killer GIFGiphy"My friend was at a camp with me and we were in the same cabin, we all stayed up late we got tired and went to sleep."
"My friend, lets call him Chandler, and I stole some instant coffee packets from the kitchen and we had them in water at night. Chandler didn't have a good caffeine tolerance like me so he stayed up a bit after all of us went to sleep."
"I asked him what he was going to do and he said he brought a novel and he was going to read it until he fell asleep."
"It was about 1am and we are all peacefully sleeping and then we hear the biggest scream. Chandler was crying and shaking in his sleeping bag and everyone in our cabin came over to see what was wrong and to help him out."
"He screaming really loud and if that didn't wake up other cabins and the teachers then his loud crying after did. Soon all the teachers were inside out cabin and I had to stay on my bunk bed to not be squashed."
"Chandler told us that he saw a ghost wandering around our cabin. He said he also heard the wind breeze while the ghost was moving. Another guy in my cabin backed him up saying he also heard that."
"Chandler was sent home and everyone continued the camp, however, it felt really weird. I talked to him a lot when we all got home and he told me more details."
"He told me he looked at the ghost for about 3 seconds because he was too shocked to say anything. The ghost was not white look in movies, it was transparent and BARELY visible."
"He told me it looked like a little boy. The little boy was not in our school uniform, but in really old fashioned clothes. Chandler told me he wasn’t too scared of the boy in those 3 seconds but shocked because it was a ghost."
"Then what really screwed him was after those 3 seconds when his brain clicked and he screamed."
"The ghost boy turned and looked at him "with shallow, lifeless eyes" and then rushed out of the cabin. This was the wind sound Chandler and my cabin mate heard."
"Then I remember distinctly what Chandler said because if I was him, I would doubt everything I know. He said 'That ghost looked at me, with no expression, and even though it was only for a split second, it felt like an eternity. I knew it wasn’t just my mind playing tricks when I saw his eyes. There was no soul in them, like it had been sucked away.' "
"I find it really weird because Chandler is the most honest guy I know and he seemed really traumatized."
"I was considering if it was the effect of the coffee, but he had it the night before as well and didn't see and hallucinations. Plus he was a regular drinker and he loved the taste even though it made him stay up."
"This story shakes me to this day."
- DirtyDuckTales
"Not A Deer"
Busch Beer GIF by BuschGiphy"Alright it’s finally my time to shine!"
"The area I live in has a very active deer population. They’re constantly getting hit by cars at night in my area and people constantly have to be on the lookout for these dudes."
"So one night I’m driving home from my friends house around 1am. I’m going pretty slow because the place near my house has a pretty big deer family who loves the area (around 6-7 of them)."
"So I’m driving up a hill going around 30mph and I had to slam on my breaks cause a 'deer' runs in front of my car."
"I don’t know if it was because it was super late at night and I was tired or what. But I sh*t you not, this was not a deer."
"It kind of was, but it had one too many legs and too many eyes. I only saw it for a second cause it ran past my car. But it was the weirdest thing I’d ever seen."
"It was pretty quick when it went by my car, but the 'tail' for sure was a leg, I can say that for certain."
"I even looked it up later and there is a commonly seen cryptid called the “Not a Deer” so that’s just my fun little cryptid story."
- bobcatnat123
Jellyfish In The Air
jellyfish GIF by Monterey Bay AquariumGiphy"Walking through the woods in the southeast US for fun I walked through a field where there were tiny fluorescent jellyfish-like things floating through the air. Maybe half an inch to 2 inches in size."
"I initially thought it was some kind of plant spores or something moving in the wind but when I looked at them closer they were actually moving independently."
"That was about 2006. I spent months going through those woods and that field over and over again with a camera trying to find them but I've never seen them since."
- gettogero
My long-term readers will know I'm super sketched out by orcas and have essentially written off Argentina because their orcas hunt on land.
Alaska clearly needs to get scratched off my list, too.
Anything big enough to hunt orcas is certainly big enough to hunt Ericas and I'm not trying to be on anyone's menu.
Kthankxbye, giant spiky sea thing.
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