People Share The One Compliment They Received That Stayed With Them
[rebelmouse-image 18357185 is_animated_gif=Compliments are nice, especially when they're unexpected. A few weeks ago, someone at a party told me I had a "quiet intensity," which stuck with me and gave my confidence a huge boost. What praise have you been paid that put some pep in your step?
mrjeeveswilliams asked, What's a casual compliment someone gave you which stuck with you and shaped you?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Knowing people can rely on you is immensely satisfying.
[rebelmouse-image 18357186 is_animated_gif=When I was teaching, one of the kids had an accident and broke their project. I comforted the little dude and told him I'd fix it on my lunch break. He said, "How do I know you'll do it?" One of the other kids said, "Don't say that! Person144 always does what they say they'll do!" I've tried to live up to that kid's opinion of me ever since.
Kids often blame themselves for their parents' divorce, so this probably felt amazing.
[rebelmouse-image 18357187 is_animated_gif=My second-grade teacher was pregnant and she said: "I hope my child is just like you." My parents were getting divorced and I used to hang out in her classroom after school for an hour just because I enjoyed her company and needed someone to talk to.
"A good manager doesn't fire, he hires and inspires." - Michael Scott
[rebelmouse-image 18357188 is_animated_gif="I wish I had 12 of you" my manager basically saying I was the best worker she had during my yearly review.
Edit: Guys, I got a raise and a bonus during that review. Not sure why so much negativity.
Cute, he thinks I have it together.
[rebelmouse-image 18357189 is_animated_gif="You're the only person who ever knows what's going on around here. Without you, we'd all be beating each other over the heads and consuming our children."
--A very drunk professor at our annual department party
We are more than our grades. Some of us are teacher's pet.
[rebelmouse-image 18357190 is_animated_gif=Parent Teacher Night in 9th grade and nearly every single teacher that my dad talked to mentioned my shoddy grades, poor assignment work, or constantly being distracted. As the night went on I just kept feeling more and more pathetic, but then we got to my history teacher and he was wicked happy to meet my dad. He talked about my grades for a little bit, but then spent most of the time saying how I was such a nice and respectful student, how I got along with everyone, and how much he enjoyed having me in his class. Perhaps he was just saying that cuz he noticed how anxious I was, but it made me realize that I'm more than just a couple of grades.
Hey thanks. PayPal me.
[rebelmouse-image 18357191 is_animated_gif="You're my favorite person to people-watch"
Well, I'm pretty sure that was a compliment. And I'm also not sure how I feel about that.
You can always count on little kids to tell you the truth.
[rebelmouse-image 18357192 is_animated_gif=I had this little boy walk up to me while I was waiting for my husband to finish in the bathroom, and he just goes "hi" and I'm like "...hi?" And he goes "YOU'RE REALLY PRETTY" and bolts in the other direction. I have never been more flattered.
Adults lie, they socially contract, they BS. Kids don't just do that shit unbidden, especially at personal social risk. I've seen kids straight up point to someone's worst feature and announce it. This kid took the time to overcome his lil fear and come up and tell me I'm pretty. Made my week.
Find people who appreciate your individual weirdness. It's special.
[rebelmouse-image 18357193 is_animated_gif=After high school I became really good friends with a real popular kid from another school, one night we were talking about high school and I was like "I'm a bit of a weird kid so I didn't have too many friends in high school" and he countered with "nah you're not weird, people just don't take the time to get to know you."
This says more about college campuses than we'd care to admit.
[rebelmouse-image 18346251 is_animated_gif=Walking a girl across campus at night-- "I feel safe when you're around."
I'll take it.
[rebelmouse-image 18357194 is_animated_gif="Everyone's an idiot except you" - superior, complimenting me while also insulting my coworkers
Nothing is more valuable, or attractive, than being a good and decent person.
[rebelmouse-image 18357196 is_animated_gif=One of my best friends is drop-dead gorgeous. She could be a model if she pursued it. She is also, funny, intelligent, loving, and kind. Since we were young I always felt like I was in her shadow; being the nerdy, chubby, awkward friend. One summer night after graduation, she told me after a drunken argument: "you are the most beautiful and intelligent person I know. I've always been so jealous of you." I never knew she looked up to me the same way I did all those years. It changed my perspective on how I saw everyone around me.
Find you someone who drops plates in your presence.
[rebelmouse-image 18357197 is_animated_gif=I was out to eat with my Dad, his girlfriend, and my sister and we were walking through the restaurant to get to the rest of the mall while waiting on our table and this girl dropped all the plates she was holding. Later on, after we get a text that our table is almost ready we come back and one of the other waitress' tells us that she dropped the plates earlier because she was staring at me. Couldn't have been a more subtle and awesome compliment lol
Hi "SURFER* (swoon), whoever you are, I'm single.
[rebelmouse-image 18357198 is_animated_gif=My co-workers (mostly women, and I'm a man) always say I'm going to be a great housewife. They say it as a joke, but also serious. I love to clean, cook, do laundry and dishes. Not as a hobby, but if I have the chance, I'll do any of it and enjoy it.
I'm single and 25 years old, but really am looking forward to starting a family and these comments make me happy.
Edit: You would never expect me to be like this. I'm a 25-year-old surfer that definitely does not look the part of a clean freak at all.
Effortlessly making people laugh feels so good.
[rebelmouse-image 18357199 is_animated_gif="He is really funny without trying to be funny" helped raise my self-esteem.
Gay dudes don't mess around with compliments.
[rebelmouse-image 18357200 is_animated_gif=My partner once told me that he appreciates compliments from his gay colleagues the most because they know what it takes for a guy to put himself together well. Glad you got that bit of a boost :)
As someone who suffered with bad acne, complimenting my skin is a big confidence booster.
[rebelmouse-image 18357201 is_animated_gif=Told me they loved my skin. I was having major self-esteem issues given my acne. Never skipped on using skincare products again.
I wish I had nice handwriting.
[rebelmouse-image 18357202 is_animated_gif=In 7th grade, the guy I had a crush on complimented me on my handwriting. Besides making me happy to the point that I kept thinking about it for that entire week, it motivated me to keep up my handwriting practice and make effort to write even better. In retrospect, it was just a simple offhand compliment, but it's the one that has stuck with me and it somehow made me happier than any compliment on my outfits or hair or nails has ever made me since then.
Mom was complimenting both of you :)
[rebelmouse-image 18357203 is_animated_gif="I must've done something right raising you"
-My mother complimenting me on my mothering. Best damn compliment I've had so far. Thanks Mom.
Been there... it's the most motivating thing.
[rebelmouse-image 18357204 is_animated_gif=Recently, "I didn't recognize you." - I've been losing weight.
When your confidence is appreciated, it makes you more confident.
[rebelmouse-image 18357206 is_animated_gif=A while back I got, "You don't care what people think." Actually, I was ultra self-conscious and constantly trying to act confident. That was the last nudge I needed to actually feel confident instead of just pretending.
Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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