Compliments

Soooo sick.  Yuck.

Moving on.  Today was a pretty good day!  It started off terribly.  I woke up and couldn't swallow, had a racking cough, couldn't breathe out of my nose, and had a throbbing headache.  I didn't have class until 1:30, so I just grabbed my computer and watched two episodes of 24 (greatest. show. ever.) on Netflix while lying in my bed.  Not too shabby -- really a rather relaxing morning.  Then as soon as I got up I realized I was still sick, and I hadn't finished my homework yet.  Lovely.

But the day went on, and I finished all my homework and watched another episode (it's just...so addicting. can't stop.) and I went off to my class.

In class we did a workshop for our memoirs.  In my group, mine was the last to be discussed.

Wow.  I was not expecting such a kind, wonderful response to my memoir!  Everyone said they loved my story and the way I wrote.  They loved the details and the way I conveyed my characters without coming out and just saying "I like this person" or "This person is mean."  They were so generous with compliments to me.... and honestly it felt awesome.

It is really quite difficult to write a piece of your life, a very personal piece, and hand it over to strangers.  It's hard to think that that part of your life is now in the minds of all the group members.  But the way they received it really took away my anxiety.  I couldn't believe how nice they all were.  They all gave me constructive criticism as well -- it is by no means whatsoever a perfect piece of writing.  But the way they complimented my writing meant so much to me.

If it is prideful to say that, I apologize.  I think, however, that sometimes it's good for us to accept compliments and allow them to give us a boost -- a burst of sunshine on a seriously dark cloudy day.

<3 Mel