Think about a time when you called someone beautiful. Try to think about the details surrounding the interaction and what really stood out to you. Why did you use the specific word "beautiful"? According to Merriam-Webster definition, it means "having qualities of beauty; exciting aesthetic pleasure" which is what I feel all of my friends exhibit.

The friends that you have now are supposed to be helping you grow and encouraging you to do the things that you're passionate about. They are essentially helping you develop different character strengths and showing some of the ones you're not as strong at. Isn't that the whole point of being beautiful? Being beautiful doesn't always have to relate back to a physical appearance, but more towards the idea of who they are as a person.

Ideally, the people you surround yourself with are going to have similar interests, but could potentially have different personalities. When I look at the friendships that I do have, I tend to gravitate towards people who are stronger in areas I'm weaker in because they are acting as role models for certain things. They deserve to be recognized every once in a while, even if they are looking especially beautiful that day.

However, just because I like using the word beautiful to describe my friends, that doesn't mean I can't use another word or phrase. We can't deny, we all love getting a compliment from a friend or even a stranger. Maybe it's because they are seeing the extra effort we put in our outfit for the day or because they can tell you're in a good mood by the way we smiled. We love it because that's something we might remember at the end of a bad day.

Recently, I watched a TED Talk by Drew Dudley about the concept of completing the action of thanking someone for what they did for your life and your growth. I think that this video can be related back to giving compliments to others, no matter if you are calling them beautiful or how their new dorm room looks stunning. This is also a good reminder of how everything you say really does make an impact on someone, so go out of your comfort zone and compliment someone.

So, when people ask me why I call all my friends "beautiful", it's because they are in their own unique ways. Without the different people in my life, I wouldn't be who I am today and I'm forever thankful for that. Not only are they beautiful, but the things that they are doing are inspiring and beautiful within itself. Surround yourself with people who make you feel beautiful for being yourself and cherish them with all of your heart.