People have told me I'm smart. Some have told me I'm kind. And others have told me I'm funny. Then there was the guy who told me I had "really nice skin." That would have been nice to hear had I not been waiting for a bus after 10 p.m. in a lonely neighborhood in New York. Time and place, my friend. Time and place.
After Redditor sylberbums asked the online community, "What's the most unusual compliment you've ever heard?" people shared their stories.
Oh?
"You have a really amazing posture!" by some random woman in an elevator at work a few years ago.
16 years later..."
My high school best friend gave me the best compliment I have ever gotten, and I've never heard that phrasing anywhere else.
'When I first met you I thought you were like a shiny red apple, and I expected to be disappointed by a beige inside. But you are as bright and colourful all the way through.'
16 years later, I still remember that. (We are still friends.)
"Told to me..."
You are big strong man, but you eat from tiny bowl like child.
Told to me by an old Russian woman.
"I still don't know..."
You're like a crow swimming in milk.
I still don't know what they meant.
"I'm not entirely sure..."
You look very comfortable not smiling
I think they meant that I don't have to smile to show my expressions? I'm not entirely sure what they meant but think it was a compliment.
"I forgave her."
Worked at a cheese factory a long time ago. We dressed in nets and plastic head to toe, masks covering most of our faces. I made friends with someone on a different shift and the first time we saw each other out of work, she startled upon seeing me.
"Oh! You're... pretty?"
Hahaha. I forgave her. I guess she had built up a different image of me in her head. I'm not a pretty woman. At all. Must have taken her by surprise.
"In late 2019..."
"Damn, you go hard for a guy wearing a cardigan."
I've shared this story before, but to give a little background, I absolutely love punk rock and especially love being in the pit at shows. However, I don't really look the type to be there most of the time.
In late 2019 I went to see The Distillers in concert in Minneapolis. I had been wanting to see them ever since I was 16 years old, but I never got a chance before they broke up because I was too young for most of their shows. So, with that said I was super excited for this show since I had been waiting about 15 years for it.
I decided to wear a grey button-up shirt and a beige cardigan with dark blue jeans. I looked pretty normal but definitely stood out at the show full of a bunch of punks wearing all black and studs.
The show gets going and I'm having a blast in the pit. I was in it for nearly every song, stopping briefly to catch my breath for a bit before being pushed back in. During one of these breaks this biker looking dude with a shaved head, tattoos, and a long grey beard puts his hand on my shoulder and says, "Damn, you go hard for a guy wearing a cardigan." I thought it was hilarious and very unexpected, so I just gave him a nod and made my way back in.
Definitely paid for it the next day as I was pretty banged up all over, but it was such a great show and that super random compliment really helped make that night special.
"I was sitting in a room..."
I was sitting in a room at a frat party with my best friend and our girlfriends.
Some absolutely TRASHED drunk girl walked in, looked around for a minute, and said "I'm not pretty enough to be in this room with you people. Why are you all so good-looking!!!" Then she started ugly crying and ran away.
I was a weird mix of flattered, sad, and confused.
"Girl told me..."
Girl told me I look like Tom Cruise once. I hope she meant his face, not his height.
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Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram