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Whether it's a word you use about yourself, or a way someone else has described you, have a word or two you really, really like that's about you, and that makes you feel good about yourself?
For example, a bunch of years back, I had an ex-now-friend call me "swarthy." It made me really happy because when it comes to the way I look and present myself in terms of gender, I appreciate having things recognized about me which aren't delicate or in alignment with kind of the girl-status-quo.
As well, something about "swarthy" spoke to both sides of my family history and genetics which I really liked. We've historically all been kind of rough-and-tumble people, survivors, indelicate-looking, earthy, hearty. I like that about us, and I like being connected to that. Being seen in that from someone who didn't know that history was cool.
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63426 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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I like to describe myself as slim. Not skinny, please not skinny, I was skinny until I started walking regularly, thanks to very little muscle and an amazing metabolism. That amazing metabolism is still going (although I've subverted it enough for me to go from an actually underweight, 80-pound 15 year old to a healthy weight, 135 pound 19 year old) but I have muscle now. My legs aren't toothpicks, and I can't quite wrap my hands around my thighs. My ribs can't be counted anymore, and my stomach is a little bigger, but it's distributed fairly evenly and it looks nice. My breasts no longer look frighteningly large on a frame that could hardly fit them-they look perfectly proportional now. Basically, I like that I no longer weigh next to nothing. I celebrated when I hit a hundred pounds for the first time in my life. And I love that my weight distributes neatly across my body, giving me less of an appearance of a bag with bones clearly visible. I like slim because at this point, when I'm actually able to look at myself in the full length mirror and not think "That's a skeleton with skin", I call myself slim. Also, the word just sounds nice. I'm a sometimes writer and an emotional poet. Words have beauty, and slim feels like a beautiful word. It's hard to explain unless one knows the power of words.
Posts: 173 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2010
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My dad described me once as 'highly principled and transparently honest'. I'm not sure I fully deserve those words really, but it's something to aspire to, and it makes me happy thinking about it.
Posts: 156 | From: europe | Registered: Oct 2009
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Y'know, I always loved being called "weird". It sounds...well...weird, but I love it! It makes me feel different and it makes me proud. I was always the weird kid who loved darker movies (horror stuff!) at a younger age, hated makeup, and hated girly stuff. I still don't like a lot of girly stuff, but my makeup interest is very deep lol!
I'm also called "creatively insane" by a couple of my friends, thanks to my artsy-style of drawing But thankfully, all of us are mad, it's only a few wonderful people who are insane
-------------------- One for sorrow, two for mirth, Three for a wedding, four for a birth, Five for silver, six for gold, Seven for a secret not to be told. Eight for heaven, nine for hell, And ten for the devil's own sel'. Posts: 8 | From: Tennessee | Registered: Mar 2012
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I like when people call me analytical. I mean it's not like I don't know I am, but it feels good to have it noticed. My mother once called me an acerbic critic of pop psychology. That made me happy. My high school English teacher once said something about my writing that sent me to cloud nine -- but I have forgotten what it was, dash it all.
I once told a friend I was in love with that the way she used slang was quite vigorous and expressive. My saying that was a heartfelt expression of what I was feeling, which was that there was nothing in the world I liked better than watching and listening to her talk.
Posts: 170 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2011
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Most of the people that I've known, at some time or another, have called me "fearless."
I suppose that I do have a "Bring it on!" streak. This is exemplified when I challenge people who express discriminatory views against women to a debate right then and there. I've also had a tendency to confront bullies whenever I see them, which has landed me in plenty of trouble in the past.
-------------------- "Sneak away, sneak away / If the fate is too sad / You are not a flower of hell / That kind of place... / Don't become lost, don't become lost... / Or you won't be able to grasp the entangled hand / The cry also has a limit...." - Naraku no Hana Posts: 537 | From: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Dec 2011
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i've been told that i am very innocent and oblivious to the real world. i dont know if thats because my parents kept me sheltered, or because i chose to be that way myself.
but my friends always call me smart and helpful. they say i always go out of my way to help others.
i guess i help others, but sometimes i feel like its not enough. i always pictured myself doing something big. Something that would impact the world Posts: 24 | From: new york | Registered: Feb 2012
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Everything positive you do helps the world. Even little things like saying "Thanks, have a good day." to a bus-driver each time you get off a bus, or each time you buy something at a shop, can mean a great deal, especially if you do it regularly.
You are positively impacting the world already. Do what you feel comfortable with - if you can get yourself (or are already at) a good place in your mind, body and heart, you can be doing positive things within your limits until the day you die (and will probably even do so afterwards, based on the accumulation of positive impacts on the world from your entire life). The great thing about being kind, especially giving sincere, kind words, is that very often it does not cost much financially to do so, but is almost always very worthwhile and appreciated by you and them. Just respect your limits and boundaries and be yourself, and you will already be helping the world a great deal!
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No worries! It's what I feel, and it seems to hold true. I'm glad that you found it uplifting! Posts: 514 | From: Australia | Registered: Feb 2011
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The other day I was described as brave by my frind since I went to school wearing shorts without my legs shaved. She wanted to do the same thing but was too concerned about how people might react. I was pleased that she called me brave since I used to be so gosh darn uncomfortable about that, kind of like how I feel about not shaving my underarms and wearing a sleeveless shirt, or wearing a shirt but no bra. If I'm brave, well gosh darnit I guess I can do it!
-------------------- ~moonlight
I am ME and that is the only label I need. Posts: 822 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Oct 2009
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quote:Originally posted by moonlight bouncing off water: The other day I was described as brave by my frind since I went to school wearing shorts without my legs shaved. She wanted to do the same thing but was too concerned about how people might react. I was pleased that she called me brave since I used to be so gosh darn uncomfortable about that, kind of like how I feel about not shaving my underarms and wearing a sleeveless shirt, or wearing a shirt but no bra. If I'm brave, well gosh darnit I guess I can do it!
I used to do that all the time in Grade 6 lol. I would go to school, wearing a sleeveless top and skirt in the summer, with my underarms and legs unshaved. Some boys in my class openly pointed it out to me and asked me to shave, while my teacher discreetly pulled me to the side and privately suggested that shaving may be something that I'd like to look further into. I guess, at that time, I just didn't care at all what other people thought of me, nor did I care for the various gender-related stereotypes people tried to box me into.
-------------------- "Sneak away, sneak away / If the fate is too sad / You are not a flower of hell / That kind of place... / Don't become lost, don't become lost... / Or you won't be able to grasp the entangled hand / The cry also has a limit...." - Naraku no Hana Posts: 537 | From: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Dec 2011
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My mum, said with respect, affection and pride. It means a lot to me because a person has to really Know me to know that (I don't "look" those descriptions, and don't bring aggression into my usual communication), and because she knew what it meant to possess those traits as a positive thing, to tap into the positive ways they can be used, and because she was recognising that I did that. She was one of very few people in the world who would list those at the top of "positive character traits" for me, and I know it's true, and I love that she thought so and saw it as a positive and something to respect and admire. She knew the full extent of it and she wasn't uncomfortable or afraid of it - she knew it wasn't anything to Be afraid of, but something to trust, to rely on, see achievements happen and justice done with. Well, she called me "scary" once too, but she was meaning to people who were harming others and people who were afraid of intelligent or outspoken women, so I took that as a compliment too
Also, she was one hell of a formidable and feisty woman herself, and I learned it from her.
-------------------- The kyriarchy usually assumes that I am the kind of woman of whom it would approve. I have a peculiar kind of fun showing it just how much I am not. Posts: 727 | From: Europe | Registered: Sep 2011
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Would you be able to to have a look at it and the link there and tell me what you think? I'd really appreciate it. Posts: 514 | From: Australia | Registered: Feb 2011
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