Compliments

Today I truly discovered the power of a compliment (or several). This morning as I was walking to my classroom, I had a teacher compliment my outfit and tell me that I looked "super cute" today. Now I didn't think that I looked particularly well put together today, but I think the fact that this teacher took the time out of her day to compliment my outfit added a bit of pep to my step today.
Then, this afternoon I attended an English Department meeting in which several teachers complimented my performance in my internship. Again, I want to say that I am by no means tooting my own horn or thinking that I am some sort of fabulous teacher-intern extrodinaire, but I can say what a difference these compliments and kind words can make. I feel good about myself, about my work, and about my impact here at NBH. I dont feel like some outsider coming in for a short while to complete a requirement for school and then high-tail it out of there, I feel like a part of the team. I have gotten some amazing ideas from the people that I work with and have shared some ideas. My input, my resources, and my abilities are appreciated and there is something to be said for feeling valued. It's nice to know that my clinical teacher is talking about me (and in a good way!), its nice to know that someone thinks that what I am doing is really neat, and it's nice to know that I have a network of support for those days that I am not quite feeling it.
So take an effort to compliment someone tomorrow. Take the chance to make someone else's day the way that these individuals have made mine today. You never know how great of an effect a kind word can have on someone.