When Kindness plus Honesty Goes Terribly Wrong

We are raised to find kind things to say about people.  We also know that we should strive to be honest.  These two traits do not always go together.

I have had several instances this past week in which very nice, polite people were either trying to compliment me or behave empathetically toward me, and well, the result was like, “Oh… heh heh, how awesome.”  Then I proceeded to plan out which food would properly drown out my feelings for the evening.

For instance, I was leaving the house to see some friends of mine, and I was feeling little sassy.  Nothing big… but I took the extra time to straighten my hair, put on a little mascara and lipstick, added a cute necklace and selection from my high-self-esteem shirts.  I was mostly feeling pretty good that evening. 

But things were about to go terribly wrong, in the kindest possible way.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I blame the fact that I have gorgeous friends. >.>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The End.
 
 
 
 

I am the Alpha!

Dear beloved PuppyWumpykins and KittersMcKitterKat,

I would adore it if you could please refrain from being the “leader” of our household treks if you do not actually know where we are going.  (I mean, realistically speaking, we can only go to the kitchen or upstairs from the couch.  It is not like you actually *need* to stop over and over again in front of my ankles…  It is not like there is any *guesswork* in realizing we are either going forward to the kitchen or up to the bedroom. but I am getting off topic.  You are like a wild cougar and a wild, majestic wolf, and I cannot presume to know the purpose behind your untamed, beastly ways..)

For you see, if I die, you will only have enough food from my body to sustain you for a week or two until I am far too rotten to eat.  In the end, my death would benefit none of us.

Also, winter is coming and I would be unable to turn on the heat.  You like heat. 

Yours Truly,
Your Food and Potty Servant

 
 
The End.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

OMG… You are so Skinny (%$#%&).

Being introverted and having extreme social anxiety, I am often confused by the nuances of social interaction.  I often require a lot of contemplation before I realize if someone is being snide, thoughtful, sarcastic, funny, or mean. 
If I am secure enough in being justly confused, I’ve learned to be very honest about that confusion.


This helps me from being very resentful later and assuming that whoever I was talking to MUST have been making fun of me.
Other times, I am unsure as to whether I am confused, and I stare blankly, unable to formulate a response.  


This inability to interact with others in any sort of natural way has greatly prohibited me in formulating friendships.   Basically, my awkwardness is so great that people tend to *get* that they shouldn’t try small talk with me.


That said, I’ve still somehow managed to form small little pockets of friends and acquaintances.   One thing that is new to me is friendships with women.  This means I now have entirely new areas of social interaction to be utterly confused over.


I’ve probably mentioned in the past that I have body issues.  No matter what my size, it is very difficult for me to not see someone grotesquely fat in the mirror. 


 Well, I recently went to lunch with some of my work friends.  We hadn’t seen each other since school let out two months ago.   About five minutes into conversation, one of the ladies tells me I’ve gotten very skinny over the summer.  Logically, I knew I had not lost any weight since they’d seen me last, but what a great word! 
Then another woman chimed in saying, “Yeah, I hated you for a minute when I walked in… :D.”  And it was just then that I saw a flash in her eyes that told me


 She


Was



                                NOT


                                                Kidding…


How do I process that?  Then I remembered there was no need to panic.  I’ve seen this kind of thing on TV before, and I was pretty sure this was how women showed they liked each other. 
Pretty sure…


So I took it as a natural girl thing.  This is how we women communicate with each other.  I gave an awkward smile, and, not wanting to come off as egotistical, I decided the logical course of action was to clear up the confusion.  Then there would be no secret hatred.   And I would not be getting all this attention.  (Did I mention I have yet to learn how to take a compliment?)


I informed them I had not lost weight since they last saw me, and I even gained a little bit.  It was obviously my great new shirt, which, in all of its super-cuteness glory, made me look skinnier.    No, they corrected me.  I was wrong.   They said my arms looked skinnier, so I pulled up my sleeve and showed them my arm had indeed not become skinnier.  They informed me I was wrong again. 


Not wanting to be like one of those stupid skinny girls who walk around all skinny and obnoxious and seeking praise by telling everyone how fat they are so everyone else is forced to compliment them…


I decided to do the unthinkable. 
Now, I am not really sure why in my head this seemed like the right course of action, but I then became certain that if I collected the strength and courage to tell them my real weight, all this awkward, odd compliment-ness would come to an end and I would be out of this hole I dug myself into of trying to convince these women I did not become skinny. 
So I said it…  

This did not help me.  They then mocked my courage, and laughed about how yeah, sure, they all weigh that amount too (insinuating they definitely did not weigh that amount).


I am thinking, in the future, the right response might just be, “Thank You, and I love your hair!”
Perhaps I need to watch some more TV to help me prepare. 
_______________________________________________________

All photos and drawings are by me.  They may not be amazing, but they are mine.  If you share them, please share where you got them.