The other day I was in line at a drive-thru waiting on my order. When the lady gave me my food she also complimented my sunglasses and how "cute and fly" I looked. I thanked her, grabbed my food and went on about my day. What that lady didn't know was that her one little compliment made my day and gave an incredible boost to my ego. I felt awesome, fearless and unstoppable!
Of course this wasn't the first time I received a compliment before by either a man or a woman and I wouldn't describe myself as someone who strives to get attention. I can get through my day just fine without a remark from a passerby. But just a few words of kindness have the power to make me happy and it seems to mean even more when they come from another women.
Don't get me wrong I'm always flattered by compliments from men and usually believe them to be genuine depending on the delivery of the comment, because there is always the possibility of an ulterior motive. But when a woman takes a quick moment from whatever it is they're doing to compliment my shoes, my makeup or on my outfit, it puts me over-the-top and makes my day that much better.
Why is that though? Females are always in competition and being judgmental when they're not already tearing each other apart as we can see in most reality television shows. We live in a world where we are constantly body-shaming each other and a size four is considered fat, the mass media gives us everyday images of what the "ideal" women should look like. We are constantly bombarded with little ideas about what makes us good and appealing and what makes us bad and undesirable.
Compliments from women are few and far in-between. We shouldn't be eyeing each other down from head-to-toe, judging each other each time we pass by on the streets likes it's a showdown. We should be empowering each other and trying to make the world a little bit better by boosting each other's confidence in hopes of bringing down all the pressure we face by negative messages.
That's why I feel compliments from other women are more meaningful than those from men. No offense to all the men that do try to flatter us women. Women just understand what goes into what one presents, we value each others taste and for a moment in time, that compliment that was given is like a signal of non-competition.
So the next time ladies, when you walk out your front door into the world, understand that a compliment to another women can make a huge impact on someone's day. We should strive for female empowerment, not judgmental hater-aid of the same sex. A few kind words can boost spirits, days can be made and hopefully the one on the receiving end will reciprocate and pass that happiness forward. Let us try to be on the same side instead of being against each other all the time.
