We've all heard that we can make a person's day better by genuinely smiling at them. Even just in passing, that little moment could brighten their day and inspire them to turn a tough day around.
But we rarely give ourselves credit for how much we could positively impact a person's life by being kind to them.
Curious, Redditor 707strawberries asked:
"What's [one] compliment you'll never forget?"
Grandma's Favorite
"My ailing grandma told me I was her 'favorite person' as her last words to me. I loved her so dearly and it meant a lot."
- Lexiwolf333
Aggressive Niceness
"A car full of girls rolled past me slowly one time when I was out shopping and yelled out, 'GIRL, YOU'RE SO CUTE, WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR DRESS!?'"
"And that was just so aggressively nice."
- BeckyWithTheDontCare
"We need more of this in the world."
- LexiCheyenne420
Life-Changing Compliment
"In college, I didn't have many friends in my first year. I wasn't as outgoing as I am now."
"I was riding the elevator in my dorm when a girl walked in. She smiled and said I have beautiful eyes."
"I don't even know if I replied honestly. I'd never had any attribute highlighted by anybody I wasn't related to. That interaction gave me a big boost in confidence."
"It also taught me to compliment people, especially dudes. We never get compliments. If you're in my zone and are looking fresh, you know I'm gonna tell ya!"
- RonnieHasThePliers
A Bright And Shining Memory
"It was the only time in my entire life I’ve received this compliment from a stranger. I was helping out a customer and she was quiet but friendly."
"Before she left, she said, 'You have a sunny disposition,' and I almost cried. That compliment has stuck with me and it’s been nearly a decade later."
- Melia9090
Objectively Kind
"It was from my sister. I'm a wheelchair user with limited mobility."
"My sister said to me, 'You are not useless for not being able to move. You are beautiful and smarter than me, so you're not useless. You just have different abilities.'"
- Glum_Benefit3704
"That's not just a compliment, it's objectively true. Just because you can't do something most people are able to do doesn't mean you can't excel in other areas."
- RevolutionaryRough96
Wealthy In Love
"Christmas, mid '90s. My oldest was three. Money was tight and I felt it constantly."
"I was tying the cheapest tree we could find to the top of our rusty Toyota. My son was 'helping' me."
"An older man came over and said, 'You are a wealthy man.'"
"I tear up even now as I type this."
- nagerjaeger
Truth From A Sibling
"My brother told me I looked stunning."
- Naughty_Angel3335558
"If it’s coming from a sibling, then it HAS to be true. Brothers usually try to keep us humble, if you know what I mean . . . hahaha."
- Justsurviving-lol
A Safe Zone
"They said, 'You have no idea how safe and destressed I feel after hanging out with you.'"
"That was unexpected as it came from an overly stressed, kinda cynical person who is actually going through a lot."
- walkintree941
Kindness From Unexpected Places
"Yesterday, I had a dude at the bar tell me I was one of the nicest dudes he has met, all for moving his drink away from the pool chalk station so nothing would get in it."
- tstr_strdl
The Truth Of A Child
"When I had my super red hair, a little girl told me that I looked like Ariel."
"I told her, 'Oh yes, the mermaid!'"
"She said, 'Yes, a princess!'"
"That made me honestly tear up. I really needed that in that moment, too."
- jenna_leee
Hilarious, Absolutely Hilarious
"They said, 'You’re too smart. It scares me.'"
- redflower5
Quite The Compliment
"Years ago, I was dragged to this church function by my parents. A man came up to me and told me that he saw me from afar and said I was the spitting image of Coretta Scott King. He went on about how he actually knew her way back when and how beautiful she was, then went on reminiscing."
"I never believed him but that compliment definitely stuck with me."
- Diligent-Reference80
A Sweet As Sugar Compliment
"I had an older couple who frequented a coffee shop I worked at many moons ago, both extremely sweet in nature."
"One day, the lady had come in on her own and told me how beautiful she thought my smile was, and it was the most tender moment I had ever experienced with a stranger to this day."
"I still have gripes with my little snaggle tooth but I always flash a big grin in pictures because of her."
- JJBektline
A Brief Moment
"Once I was in the subway in Paris, and the guy sitting in front of me smiled at me and said, 'You’re really cute and charming,' and then got up and left."
"It’s been more than twenty years and I still remember that guy and how nice it made me feel."
- Mischief_Managed_Gal
A Well-Earned Compliment
"While dressed in studded-leather Warrior-Princess mode, complete with boots, gauntlets, and sword, at an outdoor summer dance festival, I was told I was cool by a boy of about 13. I was nearly 50."
- Impulsive_Artiste
"This, out of all the responses, is such an accomplishment. It’s a unicorn. You must have been a beacon of amazingness, teenagers are the most discerning crowd of folks I know."
"Source: I am a middle-aged parent to teens."
- mytherapychair
This series of compliments left us feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, and it's a great reminder of how much we can impact someone's day, or even their life, by showing them a moment of kindness.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram