For the last couple weeks, I have been asking the question, "What is the one word that you would use to describe me?" From the answers that I've received, I have learned several things.
First off, the answer to the question can be radically different based on how well a person knows you. For example, College Roomie's word for me was "compassionate." I think that's a very perceptive word that is right on the money. However, people who don't know me well and have only a surface knowledge of my personality would not chose that word. Only someone like College Roomie who knows me really well would know that side of my personality and would be able to come up with that word.
When she shared it with a mutual friend, he looked at her kind of funny. She could tell that he would not have come up with the same word. It's not because I have acted uncompassionate towards him, but it's just that he doesn't know me well enough to have seen that side of my personality. It's important to have people in your life who see the real you, rather than just the you on the surface that the world knows.
What I have realized is that my best friends are the ones who come up with the words that are the most insightful. The words that the best friends came up with are the words I would most like to be seen as. Maybe they see the real me--or maybe I am more the person I want to be around them. Either way, I think I'm lucky to have these friendships in my life!
Second, it's amazing the things that other people don't see, that we worry about. I can bet you most people would think of negative words to describe themselves....think about how many people you know who worry about their looks or their weight or whatever. I bet if I asked you to list 5 words to describe yourself, you'd have at least one negative in there. The negative word that I think of for me is plain. But you know what, no one ever used a negative word when describing another person when I asked this question for the blog.
People don't look at us and notice the 5 extra pounds or the hair that will not stay in place or the way we might periodically snap at someone when we get annoyed. Instead, people generally notice the positive. Instead of spending so much dwelling on the little things that we see, I think we all need to spend time focusing on the positive things that others see. It's so funny how we see someone totally different when we look in the mirror than what people see when they look at us.
Third, I have amazing friends. When I tried to think of words to describe my friends, I was constantly amazed at what wonderful people I have been able to surround myself with. They are smart and funny and kind and protective and caring and loyal. They are beautiful and enthusiastic and real and supportive. It's these people who have made me into the person that I am today.
Finally, just a little aside, the two funniest words I got about me were "Donor, like a cow" (you will be seeing a blog about this soon) from BFF and "ring tailed tooter" (which I understand is a good thing meaning something similar to spunky) from Cousin Junior.
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