BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Courage 15

WHAT COMPLIMENTS DO YOU STRUGGLE TO BELIEVE?

There are three that come to mind:

Writing

I love to write, I write every day - either here on the website - and I’m starting a SubStack, in my journal, in photo+words projects, cards and letters, in Twitter and Facebook feeds, and I have a few shitty first drafts sitting around in various stages of completion. I am always surprised when someone refers to me as a writer - a good writer, a great writer, a fun read, or I say things that they’re afraid to acknowledge or say. I’m always appreciative, but there are simply so many more really good writers!

Funny

I’ve often been told that I should try stand-up as I’m (apparently) belly-laugh funny. I do make people laugh, but it always comes from a dark and twisted place. (Like most comedians, I suppose, they all laugh through trauma and bare it all for everyone to witness.) I do struggle to believe that my quips and comments can be that funny because I know where it comes from, and that’s pretty shitty. I do enjoy having a small audience but you’ll never see me on stage.

Singing

I used to sing a long time ago. I was pretty good with a few octave range. In high school, I took some professional opera training and then stopped once I graduated. My instructor wanted me to quit smoking to continue - I didn’t, the habit won. I now sing in the car, in the shower, or while I dance in the kitchen. My children’s father continually complained about my voice, so I stopped singing for years. It can’t have been that bad! During the Christmas services at my kids’ school, I would sing in the chapel, several people around me would compliment me on my voice, and my beloved Bill encouraged me to sing in the car (he had no idea how that made me love him more).