They always note that you shouldn’t take what people have to say about you to heart. Due to different circumstances that have occurred over the last couple of months, I would like to say that they’re wrong.

People say nice things.

“She’s a really good waitress,” two of my friends commented at Olive Garden tonight. I’m about 95% sure that our waitress heard us, and she deserved to. Sure, I gave her a nice tip for her good work, but if she really heard what my friends had to say – that had to go so much further than my couple of extra bucks did.

That same day I uploaded this picture to Facebook. I imagine to all of you, this photo is of three sorority girls who really wanted a some-what candid shot to make it look like they were having a good time.

You’re wrong. This picture is of three sorority girls who were actually laughing while this was being taken because they were having a great time.

Two reasons this picture is in this post; Number one, the night this was taken, Toni, the girl in the middle, told Beth and I that we were two of the nicest people in the world, and then followed up that statement with life’s greatest hug. Real talk, Toni is one of the nicest people in the world; but I think Beth and I can agree that knowing one of our friends thinks about us this way is single handedly the greatest feeling in the world.

People Say Important Things

Reason two? This comment: “I love the depth of happiness that I see in your faces. That’s real. Kind of tired of the plastic looks I do often see.”

I don’t know the man who left these thoughts behind, but his words will forever be stuck in my head as some of the most important ones I’ve ever read. I can’t say that I’ll ever be happy with any posed picture I take again. Not because of my body shape, or because of the way my face looks, but because of the lack of raw emotion that is found in so many pictures today. I wholeheartedly believe that the best engagement pictures come from the photographer that’s hidden in the bushes. The greatest family portraits you can get are the ones taken when you’re spending time together doing something that makes you all happy.

People Say Mean Things

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Except for when they do.

You have to learn to work with other’s opinions. No, I don’t mean accepting the fact that someone commented on your body shape as the truth, but rather pushing through and learning something from what they have to say.

The way you made her feel the night that you commented on her size – she’ll remember every word you said and the way you said them. Why? Because as long as she lives, she’ll make sure that nobody else has to have those same horrible feelings that followed her around for months.

Some people say nice things. Some people say mean things. No matter what they say, I think it’s important to remember them. Think of the raw emotion, think of the verbal thoughts and push forward to create a life where the thoughts that we think and the sentences that we speak make a difference in someone else’s world, regardless.