Word meme

Recently, friends have started posting a meme that involves asking for words, and getting five words that the person you asked thinks of when they think of you. Variations on the theme are giving that person five words (instead of getting the words from them), etc. You're then supposed to comment on the words that have been used to describe you.

That's all well and good, but it strikes me that I already HAVE a handful of words that have been used to describe me and have stuck with me over time. So instead of asking people for words to describe me so that I can comment on them, I think it's high time I commented on some of the things y'all have already said.

Classy

The night I met my father, my cousin John asked me if I planned to introduce myself. I responded that it would be rude not to. He nodded and said that he figured I wouldn't snub my father because I "had more class than that."

Sometimes I don't, but sometimes when I'm tempted to be overly bitchy, the phrase "I have more class than that" echos through my head, and tips the scales.

Cute
This came up in a conversation in which a friend was going to ask one of his friends about something on my behalf. The specific comment was "it doesn't hurt that you're cute", implying that the friend-of-a-friend would be more inclined to share information because of it.

I'm... I'm... I'm what now? I don't really know what to make of "cute", because it's just not a word I hear relative to myself. I have lots and lots of good qualities, some of which are even physical, but I've been "the fat kid" since I was three. This is the only instance I've ever been called cute without feeling like I was being buttered up for a favor. It made me feel extra-special because it wasn't intended to make me feel special at all.

Open-hearted
I don't save greeting cards as a rule. The exception to that is from when a friend was in a crafting phase and was making hand-made cards. I didn't save it because it was hand-made, but because of what she wrote inside of it: "Happy Birthday to two of the most open-hearted people I know." (It was a joint card for John and I.)



For the record, the point of this is not to beg people for words to describe myself, or to try to sidestep the meme (though, as fair warning, I probably will). It's this: I doubt very much that any of the three people who used those words remember doing so. To them, it was just an offhand comment. But it mattered to me, and continues to matter to me. Chances are, you've said something that touched another person without realizing it.

Words matter, but they matter most often when they don't really matter at all.

Word meme

Recently, friends have started posting a meme that involves asking for words, and getting five words that the person you asked thinks of when they think of you. Variations on the theme are giving that person five words (instead of getting the words from them), etc. You're then supposed to comment on the words that have been used to describe you.

That's all well and good, but it strikes me that I already HAVE a handful of words that have been used to describe me and have stuck with me over time. So instead of asking people for words to describe me so that I can comment on them, I think it's high time I commented on some of the things y'all have already said.

Classy

The night I met my father, my cousin John asked me if I planned to introduce myself. I responded that it would be rude not to. He nodded and said that he figured I wouldn't snub my father because I "had more class than that."

Sometimes I don't, but sometimes when I'm tempted to be overly bitchy, the phrase "I have more class than that" echos through my head, and tips the scales.

Cute
This came up in a conversation in which a friend was going to ask one of his friends about something on my behalf. The specific comment was "it doesn't hurt that you're cute", implying that the friend-of-a-friend would be more inclined to share information because of it.

I'm... I'm... I'm what now? I don't really know what to make of "cute", because it's just not a word I hear relative to myself. I have lots and lots of good qualities, some of which are even physical, but I've been "the fat kid" since I was three. This is the only instance I've ever been called cute without feeling like I was being buttered up for a favor. It made me feel extra-special because it wasn't intended to make me feel special at all.

Open-hearted
I don't save greeting cards as a rule. The exception to that is from when a friend was in a crafting phase and was making hand-made cards. I didn't save it because it was hand-made, but because of what she wrote inside of it: "Happy Birthday to two of the most open-hearted people I know." (It was a joint card for John and I.)



For the record, the point of this is not to beg people for words to describe myself, or to try to sidestep the meme (though, as fair warning, I probably will). It's this: I doubt very much that any of the three people who used those words remember doing so. To them, it was just an offhand comment. But it mattered to me, and continues to matter to me. Chances are, you've said something that touched another person without realizing it.

Words matter, but they matter most often when they don't really matter at all.