Gina and Kasil
For those of you that haven’t met my friend, Gina, she isn’t one that speaks everything she thinks, but when she speaks, she speaks her mind in a fashion that is both succinct and clearly congruent with her exact emotions in the moment she opens her mouth.
I think there’s something extremely admirable about sharing one’s opinion right in the moment when it is most appreciated—probably because that’s what I’m terrible at doing. For instance, Maria and I were coming back from Blockbuster Sunday night to find Gina sitting on the porch waiting to be let into the apartment. Granted, she’d only been perched for a few seconds, but when she turned around and saw us coming she said, “There you are! I like you people!” Clean, clear, and refreshing. It doesn’t get any better than that.
It is my personal position that we forget the value of a genuine compliment. Something beyond, “I like your necklace” to a positive observation about the person’s qualities. Something that is, inevitably going to brighten their day, their smile, and sometimes their opinion of you. Not to be calloused, but a lot of good and bad can happen when you choose to open your mouth.
Today, I was approached by the Smart&Final cart collector guy—at least that’s how I would’ve described him before he said a word to me. As he reached for my cart he very articulately told me I carried myself well, and he just wanted me to know that I was beautiful, even if I had a boyfriend.
…Awwwwwwww. It didn’t matter what he said after that because my view of him had entirely changed. Now he’s transitioned in my mind from the cart guy in the parking lot to the young gentleman who offered to take my cart back for me. He asked for my number and I declined because I’m slightly paranoid about stalkers who know my last name, which is unfortunate because he didn’t have access to steady internet, so we couldn’t do the email thing. I walked away feeling a little sad that I wasn’t going to get to talk with Kasil again, but he called me beautiful, and I’ll think on that all day.
This, my friends, this is why I always call people by name and try to be a little more than cordial to strangers even if they think I’m flirting. You never know how you might change their outlook on life for an hour or two. God bless Kasil because it took guts, and Lord knows I needed to hear what he had to say.
I think there’s something extremely admirable about sharing one’s opinion right in the moment when it is most appreciated—probably because that’s what I’m terrible at doing. For instance, Maria and I were coming back from Blockbuster Sunday night to find Gina sitting on the porch waiting to be let into the apartment. Granted, she’d only been perched for a few seconds, but when she turned around and saw us coming she said, “There you are! I like you people!” Clean, clear, and refreshing. It doesn’t get any better than that.
It is my personal position that we forget the value of a genuine compliment. Something beyond, “I like your necklace” to a positive observation about the person’s qualities. Something that is, inevitably going to brighten their day, their smile, and sometimes their opinion of you. Not to be calloused, but a lot of good and bad can happen when you choose to open your mouth.
Today, I was approached by the Smart&Final cart collector guy—at least that’s how I would’ve described him before he said a word to me. As he reached for my cart he very articulately told me I carried myself well, and he just wanted me to know that I was beautiful, even if I had a boyfriend.
…Awwwwwwww. It didn’t matter what he said after that because my view of him had entirely changed. Now he’s transitioned in my mind from the cart guy in the parking lot to the young gentleman who offered to take my cart back for me. He asked for my number and I declined because I’m slightly paranoid about stalkers who know my last name, which is unfortunate because he didn’t have access to steady internet, so we couldn’t do the email thing. I walked away feeling a little sad that I wasn’t going to get to talk with Kasil again, but he called me beautiful, and I’ll think on that all day.
This, my friends, this is why I always call people by name and try to be a little more than cordial to strangers even if they think I’m flirting. You never know how you might change their outlook on life for an hour or two. God bless Kasil because it took guts, and Lord knows I needed to hear what he had to say.
posted by Mel at
4:40 PM
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