I'm Such an AFROholic

Inside the mind of a kind of quirky, pretty stubborn, way too opinionated, twenty-something, heteroflexible Black female newly employed up-and-moved-to-DC Princeton GRADUATE who's just trying to sort out her life. An uninhibited celebration of all that is me, this blog is an exercise in self-discovery and live-with-your-heart-wide-open-ness. Though I make respect a habit, I will not always be politically correct, and I believe in the power of making audiences uncomfortable to inspire change.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Shoutout to those guys

who know how to talk to a woman.

Princeton had a Ball tonight--please do your best to refrain from snickering at how pretentious we are--that seemed more like a high school dance than anything else at times. I had a cute dress, matching shoes, fly ass jewelry, and a baller hairstyle as inspired by this video:

Successfully tried it at home:

Anyway, I'm not tryna sound cocky or anything, but quite a few people told me they liked my hair or my makeup or my dress (or any combination/permutation of the above). A few even told me how great/pretty I looked. And all of these things made me blush (kind of) and smile and express much thanks, but none of them compared to when E told me I looked "beautiful."

Maybe it was a line. Maybe he said that to every girl he saw tonight. I don't care. It didn't matter. In that moment, I felt like he actually saw me as a whole package and liked what he saw. I felt special. I felt...noticed and appreciated. It just makes you feel so good about yourself, as shallow as that may be.

And then later I ran into another friend of mine walking in the door to Charter, the eating club that is the farthest away from campus. I was leaving as he was coming in, and though I'd already run into him a few times tonight, I decided to stop and give him a goodnight hug. I tapped him on the shoulder and he stopped, looked at me, and said that I was "just about the only person he'd stop for in this cold."

Again, I felt like I'd just been honored.

So this is a shoutout to all the guys who know how to talk to a woman. How to make her legitimately feel good about herself (and your relationship, of whatever sort) with just a few words. I want you (and guys like you and guys unlike you and guys who just want to be like you) to know that I appreciate your appreciation. That it will stay with me for the next day or two. That you will be behind the little smile on my face as I finish this post and go to sleep.

I felt so...visible. These aren't just things people say in social situations because they're deemed acceptable. These things felt meant, and that more than anything else makes tonight memorable and more than worth it.