A Small Reminder to Happier Times

Let's go back in time a little. Back three years ago.

In eighth grade, our science teacher had a special little something she'd do for us when we had some time before class ended. She'd pull our names written on the little popsicle sticks, and whoever's name was pulled got to stand up while the rest of us raised up our hands and complimented the person. Any compliment. We'd give compliments for around 3 minutes and she'd either pull another stick or tell us to pack up and get ready to leave.

To give you a general idea of what we'd say:

"I like how you always have gel pens prepped and ready to go."

"Your hair is always so well maintained."

"You're really good at drawing."

Sometimes generic, sometimes oddly specific, little compliments that our eighth-grade selves would remember. We all enjoyed these times because we felt like we truly belonged in the little class we were in and that people actually cared enough to notice these little things about you, things that wouldn't usually be brought up in the middle of a conversation.

As luck would have it, my name wasn't pulled until the last day of school. There were three people left, me and two other girls, so we spent the last ten minutes of science class raising our hands complimenting the classmates who had been in our lives for five years.

Finally, I was the last.

Sometimes, I feel like things happen for a reason. That day was one of those instances when I felt like fate was trying to get me to realize something. Or maybe it was God?

As I stood up from my chair, hands were raised. Daniel said he appreciated how I taught him so many Chinese words and let him butcher them without getting angry. He finished, screaming "MA!" (pretty sure he meant horse instead of mom). Evie said she was amused by how Daniel and I always interacted in class. Emily thanked me for being such a caring and generous person. The list went on and on...

Our science teacher smiled as the hands disappeared.

"That was a bit over three minutes, but I guess people have a lot of nice things to say about you," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

My day was made.

I wonder why I still don't think I'm good at anything?