Compliments, do you hate them or love them?

The other day, I was thinking about how I hate compliments.  I especially hate receiving compliments but I also just suck at giving compliments.  I find it all so awkward and fake.  At least for the longest time that’s what I thought was the reason why I disliked compliments so much but recently I thought about it in more depth.  I don’t really know why I was thinking about it besides the fact that someone I like told me their mom thought I was pretty.  I didn’t really think of that as a good thing but most guys seem to take it as a good thing.  Anyways, so why do I hate compliments?

Reasons why I hate receiving compliments:

a)  I don’t ever really know what to say when someone compliments me.  Sometimes I say thank you.  Sometimes when I say thank you, I feel like I should say more or that the other person is expecting me to respond by complimenting them.  I end up feeling like the bad guy if I don’t compliment them back.  How do you respond to a compliment?

b)  It feels fake to me.  Sometimes, I don’t think the compliments are genuine and I just hate when people are fake.  So much of Asian culture is based on face, I just hate it.

c)  Sometimes, it’s just about looks.  As much as I want to believe that people don’t care about looks, I know it’s importance.  I know I’m not ugly but I think of myself as average look wise.  I just feel like is that all you have to say about me?  Is that all I am to you?  A pretty face?  I guess it’s the feminist in me.

Reasons why I hate giving compliments:

a)  It just doesn’t flow out of me the way it flows out of other people.  It’s not like I don’t want to compliment people, it’s just that I can’t seem to word my compliments correctly.  This just makes things awkward for both parties.

b)  Timing.  When is it the right moment to compliment someone?  Right when you see them? or when you notice something worth complimenting? and what if you notice it while they are in the middle of a deep discussion with you?  I don’t know.  I just never seem to have the timing right.  Again, making complimenting someone just an awkward gesture.

Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t understand compliments.  Sometimes I feel like I lack in social skills and wonder if I might suffer from a bit of autism.  But that’s a random thought for another day.

How do you feel about compliments?  Comment below and let me know.

❤ sarah