Best Compliments You've Received

[indianasmith]

I teach U.S. history at our local community college.  I had a very intelligent, 50 year old non-traditional student a couple semesters back who walked up to me when class was over and said:

"I thought I had had history teachers before till I met you!" 

That made my day.

[AndyC]

Straight compliments usually make me uncomfortable. I don't expect them, and I don't really know how to take them. Ironically, the compliments I consider most heartfelt and touching, are the kind that slip out when somebody is giving me sh!t about something. You know, the comment that emphasizes how dumb and annoying your actions were because you can do much better. I think I must have got that chewing out from just about every teacher I really respected in school.

Just last year, while getting a lecture from my wife about the latest piece of housework I screwed up, or something like that, she said to me "You're not stupid. You're really quite brilliant." I guess I was noticeably cheerful after that, because she later asked me what I was smiling about.

"You think I'm brilliant."

She gave me a look like "Oh, good grief," and confirmed that yes, of course she does.

That means more to me than any glowing praise. When somebody tells you how smart you are while chewing you out for being stupid, they really mean it.

The other thing I take as a great compliment is telling my mom on the phone about some project or other I'm playing with - arcade machine, CNC router, robots, etc. - and she'll ask me, with genuine wonder in her voice, where I learned to do this stuff.

My parents were never big on handing out praise. No news was good news when it came to doing something right. What I took as praise from my dad was when he would trust me, as a teenager, to completely design and build him a fenced patio or rewire parts of the house, and pay for whatever materials I needed.

What I didn't learn until much later was how much my parents brag to everyone else about their kids. When I can walk into a nursing home 400kms away from here and all the old ladies know who I am and what I'm doing, because they hear endlessly about it, that's better than any compliment. Although, someone occasionally needs to clarify whether I'm the doctor, the mountie, the one in the navy or the one who used to write for the paper.

[Mr. DS]

"You're the best daddy in the whole world..."  My 5 Year Old

[Psycho Circus]

I usually get a ton of insults directed my way, but I have had the odd compliment now and then. At work, I've been told that I'm a smart, reliable, responsible member of staff who always provides excellent customer service and outside of work I've had stuff like; "you have nice eyes", "nice ass", "you have a big attractive penis" and that I have a "perfect set of teeth".

[bob]

My most recent ex said to me  "that's the biggest penis I've ever seen" to me. 

[Vik]

Many of my screenplays have been called brillant and masterpieces. While I (unfortunately) never share their enthusiasm on my work, it's still great to hear.

[JaseSF]

Back in 1981,I was sitting on a park bench in the Bronx drinking a bottle of booze,and a bum sat next to me and said I had pretty eyes....that was creepy!  

 

RC makes me laugh far more than most but what's disturbing is sometimes the fact that what he's talking about does seem to be a real event that really happened.

I've had compliments about my appearance, people saying I look far younger than I am. That's what I get by and in large the most. Also I've had some tell me they admired me for the life choices I've made (to refrain from abusing drugs) and sticking to my principles despite all the peer pressure over the years not to....

[Zapranoth]

When I was an intern, two of my nurses in clinic gave me an award at the end of the year:  "lowest maintenance clinician."  They also gave me the Led Zeppelin boxed set as a parting gift!   The compliment has stuck with me; that was a great one.

[El Misfit]

When I was walkin' home a while back, someone offered me a beer. he thought I was over 21. Told him that I was 15.

[Jack]

When my wife said "I do."   

[The Burgomaster]

When I was  teenager, my best friend told me I have the stinkingest farts he ever met.

[Pilgermann]

I'm told fairly often that I'm good at drawing, a good musician, blah blah.  I disagree with it all, but I have fun in both areas.  I've probably thrown away 99% of what I've ever drawn in my life and I don't really know any songs, I just noodle around on various instruments with varying results.

During my brief college stint, my English teacher told the class that I was probably the best writer out of all of them.  I felt embarrassed but it was sort of an ego booster I guess.  Most of my assignments were written in a panic the night before they were due.

Generally I'm uncomfortable with positive recognition, and I pretty much suffer from a constant self-hatred, but I do appreciate when people say nice things.

[Allhallowsday]

Back in 1981,I was sitting on a park bench in the Bronx drinking a bottle of booze,and a bum sat next to me and said I had pretty eyes....that was creepy!  

LOL!! 

When I was in high school this girl whose name I don't remember told me "I was too cute for my pants..."   

[JaseSF]

A girl in high school told me she wished she had my long eyelashes. Later the same girl grabbed my butt which to be honest totally caught me off guard and frightened the heck out of me at the time...

[claws]

Compliments make me uncomfortable as well. Plus I don't like being the center of attention.
Had my share of compliments over the years but I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to brag about them, so I won't