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praise
Words can hurt, but they can also heal.
A kind word or the right words at the right time can make a world of difference to the person they're directed at.
Reddit user Constant_Ad9001 asked:
"What is the nicest compliment someone has ever made you?"
Voice
"Someone once told me my voice is so calm and soothing, my voice was always an insecurity to me so that compliment was nice."
~ sillylittlecreepy
"I have a very monotone voice that I'm very self-conscious of."
"Back in high school there were 2 foreign exchange students—brothers—that loved to talk to me because I guess my voice made it easy for them to understand the different language."
"I've hung onto that for a couple decades now."
~ AnOddOtter
Scent
"My son told me I smell like a fruit roll-up."
~ TastefulDisgrace
Trust
"I was visiting my brother in Mumbai, India. While looking at a dress for my wife, I really liked one."
"I realized I did not have cash and the shopkeeper—it was a temporary setup by the roadside—did not accept credit cards. I had a return ticket for the next day."
"So I reluctantly decided to not buy the dress. For some reason the shopkeeper asked me to take the dress anyway. I told him I don’t have enough cash. He said bring the money tomorrow."
"I said I am flying out tomorrow, so I may not have the time to come back. He said bring the money when you come next year."
"I was seriously floored. I could not believe he trusted me enough that he would let me take merchandise without some sort of guarantee that I would pay him."
"He insisted that I take the dress and pay him back whenever I could. He took no name, no phone number, nothing from me as a guarantee of payment. He said 'I know you are honest man and you will pay me'."
"I went back the next morning to pay him. He literally said to his assistant in front of me, I told you he’ll come back with the payment."
~ chanakya2
Mermaid
"I used to work as an art teacher for kids from ages 3 to 10. Once, in one of the schools where I worked, I noticed the small kids started a rumor about me."
"I would see the girls giggle, whisper and look my way. One day, one of the girls walked up to me, and said she wanted to ask me a question."
"I said sure, and she very shyly whispered in my ear: 'Is it true you're a secret mermaid?'."
"It was just the cutest thing EVER."
"For context, I have veeeery long wavy hair, wore a seashell necklace almost daily, and would sing to them in classes, which kinda explains the rumors."
"I thought it was so cute and was legit flattered."
~ Key-Freedom-2132
Father's Pride
"My Dad died when I was eight. Mom was in the hospital in a coma for months. Grandma took care of my sister and I."
"I had a best friend since we met at five in Kindergarten, and his parents invited me over a lot. This was 1980 so a long time ago."
"I partnered up with the girl I dated after high school during senior year and we helped each other through college. Built a good career and a consulting practice with no support net."
"My friend's mom and dad came to see me in Las Vegas where we moved to retire. I do some consulting still, but it's more because I enjoy it than need it."
"We spent a long dinner talking and his dad told me my parents would be proud of me at the end of the night."
"Really needed to hear that from someone I looked up to my whole life since my dad couldn't tell me."
"Oof. Hit me right there."
~ farmerben02
Valued Customer
"I sometimes buy meat from a butcher shop from the market hall in Helsinki (Hakaliha) and sometimes they joke to me about what time they can come over or when the food will be ready, when I tell them what I cook."
"Brilliant place for excellent meat, free bones for stock and they cut meats for smaller portions. I don't visit there often, but last time their card reader didn't work."
"Other customers were trying to pay for their stuff and trying several cards, but for me this guy was like 'pay next time' after my first try."
"I felt privileged, and at the same time, I didn't feel like I earned that trust. But it felt really good."
~ pm_your_boobiess
Being Heard
"'I love how passionate you get when you talk about things you care about'."
"I like to say this to my partner. His special interests are ants and trees, and he loves talking about them, and it's so cute how excited he gets."
"I think the reason I consciously choose to express this to him is because I'm self-conscious to talk about my special interests too much because my partners in the past have told me I'm annoying and talk too much. But he says he wants to hear me talk too."
"Still have a hard time with it, though. But yeah, a lot of the compliments I give are things that I wish people would say to me..."
~ SnouSnou
Peer Review
"I'm not sure it's the 'nicest' thing, but professionally it was."
"My senior year of college, a reasonably famous in his field professor told me that the only undergrad class he shared his real research with was mine."
"And it was only because he wanted to hear my opinion and questions on his papers and presentations before submitting them for publication or going to a conference."
"I was so flattered I added it as a second major. Still do research with him to this day."
~ Substantial_StarTrek
Worthy
"There used to be a takeaway sushi place next to my bus stop in the city I would order from every Friday night after class. They only accepted cash."
"One Friday, I didn't have enough in the bank to take out the smallest amount possible ($20) so skipped the sushi. As I walked past he yelled out 'no sushi tonight?'."
"I said, sorry, I don't have any cash tonight, and he offered it to me anyway, and said to pay next time. I always got $10 worth of sushi and that's what he gave me."
"I made a special run to the city the following day to pay him back."
~ deadhead_derrick
Talent
"My piano teacher in college said, after playing the first and second movements of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata: 'I think that is how he would have wanted that played'."
"Yeah, that was a good day."
~ foilrat
Proud
"I'm proud of you'."
"My grandfather said that to me. I'll never forget that moment."
"My dad was a man’s man not super in touch with his emotions. When I got into the college of my choice I was so excited to tell him when he got home from work."
"Instinctively, he gave me a hug and said he was so damn proud of me. I think that was the most meaningful moment of my life."
~ farmageddon109
"My late Uncle walked beside me while I walked out with my Mother’s casket. He said, 'she would be so proud of you today. I know I am'. I bawled."
"There’s something about people saying that that just makes you feel good."
~ Wackydetective
Cherished
"During a fight with my husband caused by my low self-worth issues, he said 'Don't you realize that you are the only thing in this world that makes me want to be a better person? Don't you realize YOU are the reason because I want to be more like you‽‽'."
"Fight stopped and I just sobbed."
~ IllustriousPickle657
Role Model
"'I want my sons to grow up like you'."
"Made my week. No, my life."
~ cubonesandwich
Handsome
"When my wife and I first started dating, we came home from some sort of late-morning/afternoon thing. She flopped down on the bed, and as is right and proper, I walked over and hopped on the bed from the footboard to kiss her."
"She put her hand on my chest to stop me, looked me straight in the eye, and said: 'You’re so handsome. Oh my God'."
"I hope it’s the last thing I think of before I die."
~ SlapJohnson
Deserving Better
"This compliment changed my life/way of thinking."
"My father was not a good person. Amongst other things, he was also an ultra competitive parent and used me to fulfill his childhood losses."
"Such as win martial art tournaments he never could when he was younger. Despite loathing the routine, I was quite good and earned my black belt at a young age as I practiced Taekwondo, Judo, jiu-jitsu, weapon training and range practice."
"One day at a Judo competition, I failed to execute a proper fall and I snapped my arm. The bones in my forearm dislodged and pushed up halfway up my upper arm."
"He didn’t ask if I was okay. He drove me to the hospital and said nothing. When he got home he took away my tv and phone, and gave me a lights out curfew at 7pm."
"I was in a cast for 3 months and couldn’t preform or exercise for about half a year, so my body grew weak."
"When I got back on the mat, I got my a** kicked during sparring. I was bleeding and had a chunk of hair pulled out."
"I came out of the bathroom and Mr. Kennedy—a father of one of the elementary students—asked me why I was crying. I said because all I do is fight and I don’t know how to feel beautiful when I look like this everyday."
"He said to me while I continued to wipe dried blood from my cut lips: 'There is nothing more beautiful than resilience, you are beautiful in every way, every day my daughter comes to class, I am lucky she can look up to someone as strong as you'."
"I couldn’t believe what I heard. My whole body felt numb and then a million pounds of emotions blew up from my heart. I started to silently sob oceans."
"Somehow, I knew that he knew what I was going through. He asked if he could give me a hug. As I cried in the arms of a different father that day, I promised myself I would stand up to my own father."
"I told my dad that night if he wanted a daughter he better treat me like one. He refused and I left my house at 17."
"I have never regretted it. Mr. Kennedy was kind to me for five minutes and it was all I needed to know what a real father was like."
~ laurapickles
What's the nicest compliment you ever received?