We were walking down the busy streets of Chinatown, decorated with delicately designed lanterns to guide our way.
"Hey, it's that time of the day again." I noticed on my watch.
"What time?"
"Remember? Every day you need to tell me one trait of yours that you like. Since you didn't do it yesterday, you owe me two." I nudged her side.
"Aw, c'mon. You know this is really hard for me." Her voice got quieter.
"And that's the problem. It shouldn't be hard for you. I want you to finally go to a moment in your life that when you look in the mirror, you can smile—a genuine smile. So tell me." We stopped in front of tiny shops bursting with chatter and life and sat down on a nearby bench.
"I like how I'm so open to everyone's beliefs and their selves, as in I don't judge people. I don't care who you love or whom you believe in, as long as you're a kind soul, then I'm happy to be around you."
"I like that part about you too. Name another."
"I like my eyes. I think it's funny how my brother and I are the only ones in our family to have blue eyes while the rest have brown eyes. It's as if we're this genetic glitch in the family tree."
"You two are adorable." I gave her a cheesy smile as I stuffed my face with Chinese takeout food.
"But I don't like how hooded my eyes are...I also don't like how one eye is a little bit more hooded than the other one. I also don't like how some of my eyelashes are so crazy long that it hurts to blink and they get all interwoven with each other and and and it looks like a mess around a ball of blue. I also don't like how—"
"STOP."
"W-What?"
"Did you just hear yourself? You were complimenting yourself one second and then you completely buried yourself with insults about something you just said you liked. You are your own worst critic. No one else judges and scrutinizes every little thing on your body as much as you do. You don't realize that someone else might see your crazy eyelashes as absolutely gorgeous and envy them. You don't realize that someone else might see how your eyes radiate a blue so pure that when light hits it, a little circle of green and gold surrounds the pupil. You don't realize this because you've only seen the worst parts of you for as long as you've taken a breath. You only see yourself one-sided. You don't see the other brilliant parts and angles of you. This is exactly why I asked you to tell me something that you like about yourself every single day for a year. I want 365 compliments, not insults. Yes, it is good for the human soul to see something and try to improve it, but sometimes, you have to appreciate what is already there. Please?"
"Okay." She squeezed my hand.