from the pen of icarus blake

Daily writing prompt

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

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It’s 2012, and I’m in a paint-splattered garden level classroom that feels like the caves of Lascaux.  Our old art teacher just retired, and gone were the days of freeform projects and self-directed art.  Our new art teacher insisted, instead, on actually teaching about art, our projects interspersed with lectures on art concepts and styles (Gestalt being the one I remember the best).  Moreover, our projects now had deadlines for one important reason: critique.

I do not enjoy this part, not because I’m worried about people tearing into my artwork, but because it lasts 3 class periods and we have to sit in a circle and listen to my classmates deliver the same generic comments over and over and over again.  Since I couldn’t do art, I had to look at my classmates’.  Since I hated every comment of “I like the colors”, I made myself look closer and dig a little deeper for some comment that no one else had heard.  Something — anything — to break up to monotony.  When it came time for me to stand up and share my own art, I received no critique of worth from anyone besides the art teacher.  I assumed it had been the same for everyone else, but I got a good grade, so I made those well-thought-out comments a habit if only to make sure I had something to do when critique rolled around.

I never considered the impact my comments might have on my classmates until the very end of the year, when a senior in my homeroom brought it up during the end-of-year “roast.”  He appreciated my comments, that it seemed like I never spoke just for the sake of participation but took my time to consider what I intended to say.  He liked my thoughtful approach to the projects of others, and found my comments insightful and appreciated.

I was only a sophomore, and three days later he was off to art school totally unaware he’d changed my approach to communication and feedback for the rest of my life.  I took that compliment into the rest of my life, deciding that there was very little that didn’t benefit from some careful consideration, and gained a reputation for penetrating insight.

I can’t thank that senior enough, and I hope his art career is going well.  He doesn’t know the impact he had on my life, and he never will, but I hope his ability to see the bright spots in people continues to impact others in the same way.  He delivered me one hell of a compliment.