What's something you've been called in life that isn't generally something bad, but made you feel awful
For me, growing up, I was around people who saw games as useless and a waste of time, but I loved them
I've always been into computers and tech and was called techy and a gamer and each time, it was said with a sort of disgust from the person saying it.
It made me feel like I shouldn't be friends with the few people like me, and I spent a lot of my childhood staying away from people, and making sure that people didn't learn that I played games
Even now, I get slightly uncomfortable being called a gamer or techy or any synonym even though people don't really think that anymore around here.
When I was much younger, someone older said I'd grow up to be a heartbreaker. I was like... What? No. I'm nice, I'm not going to break hearts, what?.... Long after I realised it was a compliment on how I might look when I grew up. I still don't think it's a good compliment though.
It is a good compliment. At the end of the day, people will find you attractive and fall in love, even if you are already in a commited relationship or not interested. Being a "heartbreaker" is only shitty if you actively do something that makes it hurt the other person more - i.e. stringing them along, using people etc. Breaking hearts is part of life, even if someone is nice. At the end of the day neither you, nor the person that has fallen in love with you can change how they feel very much, it's your actions in response to that that make you a shitty or good person.
It didn't feel good and I was like 8 or something. It would be a nice compliment if they said.. you'll be loved or you'll light up the room or something... But it was instead... you'll hurt people.
Again, being a heartbreaker has nothing to do with you hurting people, unless you do it on purpose and use people. They are hurting themselves by expecting something out of you that you cannot provide.
It's not really a "not nice way" to put it. Maybe it's not "the nicest", but defo isn't "not nice". It's a metaphore like many others and I think you took it like a kid would and overthought it for many years later. To me it's the same as someone telling someone else "you will be Miss Universe when you grow up" and someone focusing on the exploitation in the industry and the general yuckiness around beauty pageants, rather than the compliment itself.
Anyway, we are kinda going in circles here, don't think we need to keep this going on lol