Who? Me? Lovely?

One thing I could not ever seem to master is the art of receiving compliments.

When I bump into someone I know and she says that my hair looks nice and my arms shrink (though this doesn’t happen at all), I think of the most appropriate response but end up saying suchlikes. I know there really is no need for deep thinking, and no need to exert one big Herculean effort, for the only two words to say is “thank you”. It’s just that, more often than not, sweet praises and flattering remarks do come in times when I feel so bad about myself; when I feel so beaten and I feel that on the outside, I look like a throwaway.

Today, I woke up with an aching body. My eyes had dark circles under them; my forehead sensed pain because of booming zits; my nose felt like it was twice bigger than it was the night before; my lips were so parched; my hair hurled all over the place; and my belly was bulging as if all the food I had eaten that night didn’t thaw out. I took a bath with the hope of feeling a little much better but it didn’t help. And since it’s Friday, I had run out of nice-looking clothes to wear. It was just one of those days - one of those days when I refuse to look in the mirror; one of those days when I disgust the glow of the morning sun. It was just one of those days when all I want to do is hide from the world, and bury myself under my sheet. But of course, I had to fight the feeling so I still went out. On my way to my first class, someone, who I barely know, made a quick remark and said that I looked ‘lovely’.

Oh God, no. Not this time. I panicked. I don’t know what happened afterwards. Maybe I started saying nonsense, or I stuttered. I have no idea. Thank you. Why is it so difficult to unfetter these two words? You may ask. Because people may not really mean it. Perhaps, it’s a reserve with their good-morning greeting. Oh, no. Not. I should not be suspicious of their sincerity. But, can you blame me? But then again, either way I should be saying these two words.

I misread them. Though I think they misread me too. They probably confuse my inability to accept compliments for my hasty bragging. I never want this to happen again, so I must learn to give these two short words off, in the quickest and the smoothest way possible. I must learn not to discount compliments.

To day, I realized that we, women, should never be too hard on ourselves to accept such a polite and enthusiastically given compliment graciously. Besides, very few things in life right now come in at no cost. Compliments are one of these. And what better way to appreciate but say thank you.