She said, “I think you’re beautiful.” And I wanted to reply with, “Wipe your glasses.”
But I stopped and thought about how important those words were, because they came from her.
I’ll tell a friend I think they’re beautiful, and they’ll respond, “Janele, I can’t trust you, you never notice my pimples.” “Well you like messy hair, it’s like frizz doesn’t bother you.” “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”
But because I’m your friend, it should count the most. Because I know you and I’ve seen your flaws and your flaws haven’t disfigured your face.
It’s like, you ever meet someone and they look super cute so you want to be their friend. I sound shallow here, and it’s because sometimes I am. But you get to know them and their face kind of changes and they’re less cute than you first thought and you’re not so eager to be their friend.
Then there’s people you meet and as you get to know them, their face slowly starts to shine. There’s inner qualities about them that compliment their external features. And you want to stay friends with them.
And those features don’t seem to shift, even when you notice their high-pitched laugh, or they complain just a little too much, or they noticeably space out in group conversations. Those things don’t dull their shine. There’s a sweetness attached to them, they don’t ever taste as bland as dragon fruit.
There’s a lot of dragon fruit in the markets here. It’s a beautiful fruit, but when you taste it, it’s actually very mild-flavored. There’s a lot of people out there that are similar to dragon fruit. They look great on the outside, but there’s not much there on the inside. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s people who love dragon fruit. I’m just not one of them. So if you happen to be a dragon fruit person, I’m sure you have friends. I’m probably just not one of them.
But for those who are my friends, when I say you’re beautiful it’s because I know you and see you. And if you’re my friend and you call me beautiful, I want to believe you’re not saying it because you have to. It’s because you know me and see me in the way that counts. You know me and see me in a way that’s clearer than another person sees, especially myself.
