No more nice guy

The other day I was in class when I realized I have been sitting next to these people for a couple of months now, and I don't really know any of them, nor do they know me.\nDo you remember in elementary school or junior high when everyone in class would write his or her name on the top of a piece of paper and then pass it around so each student wrote something nice about every other student?\nIt's really a nice idea. I mean, I'm not saying it's a college-appropriate activity, but who doesn't like getting 24 compliments to read?\nWe did this activity once in one of my high school classes, and the other day I found my sheet of paper. Awkwardly scrawled across the top is my name in thick letters that only a Sharpie could create. Underneath sits a stack of one- or two-line comments in a plethora of colors and scripts.\nI was excited when I first found this scrap of paper, but then I read the first compliment.\n"Nice."\nOuch. \nNice? All they said was "nice"? You know all the clichés about where nice guys finish, so I won't bore you with them. \nDon't get me wrong. I'm not saying I want to be mean, but when that's the only word someone can think of to describe you, something's wrong.\nAnd it's not like this was a one-time thing. Similar, general compliments filled the page. Halfway down sits another compliment that says, "You're nice and real quiet, but that's good." I appreciated the little qualifier at the end, but it still stings a little.\nSo I continued reading, looking for the lines written in pink or purple or that had other clues suggesting a girl's handwriting.\n"You're so polite."\nWhat? That is my defining quality to this mystery girl? (Nobody signs his or her name next to his or her compliment, which I guess is a good thing because otherwise I'd be calling up these people and challenging their compliments from three years ago. Then if we did this activity at a reunion of some sort, everyone would just write "mentally unstable"). \nAnyway, there is nothing wrong with being polite, but I was hoping for things more like "adventurous" or "dashing."\nFranticly, I scanned the rest of the page for some redeeming compliments. Instead, I came across "you're not a bad soccer player," "you're intelligent, cool and fun" and "I like the hair. It's superbly awesome!" (Just for the record, my hair is superbly awesome, but it was just a little shaggy at the time -- nothing out of the ordinary.) \nAs I read over this page of "compliments," I realized two things. First, I was not nearly as cool in high school as I thought I was.\nThe second thing I realized, however, is that these people didn't really know me. I mean, I was all of those attributes to an extent, but I like to think there's something more to me. So the question becomes: Am I really myself around everyone? Maybe not. Maybe I just offer a nice smile and move on my way, and that's really a shame.\nBecause deep down I'm a pretty dashing and adventurous guy (with superbly awesome hair).