Compliments

Have you ever gone to meet a friends newborn, the baby everyone has been waiting for, and the moment you meet him/her the first thing that comes to your mind is how ugly the baby is? Well, there are some really ugly babies out there. Some change for good, some don’t. But regardless, you HAVE to give your friend compliments of her new baby because she loves it and it is not returnable. In those moments, you say things like, “wow, he is so big and strong!” or “look at how wide his eyes open, Im sure he will be really smart!” or “que graciosito!,”  which means friendly or nice. (Take notes, if you ever have a baby, and your friends avoid the word “cute” at all costs, you know there is a problem.)

The point is that people like compliments, whether it is about their babies or their shoes. For instance, how much does it suck when the first thing people tell you is that you look really tired? Whether you are tired or not, the fact that someone told you that you could look better already kills your mood a little. Luckily, receiving positive comments has the same psychological effect, but in a good way. One day my mother and I were in the train, an old homeless-looking man walks in and sits across from us. My mother, being the polite person that she is, gives him a half smile and continues to talk to me. Before the man got off the train, he approached her and told her she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. My mother was in the clouds, and smiled as hard as she could for the rest of the day to see if she would catch another compliment. “I bet if I had given him a full smile I would have blown his mind away!” she said.

Compliments are nice and everyone likes getting them. The best part is that the more you give, the more you receive! There is almost always something good to say about someone. Say it to them! Wouldn’t you want to hear it too?