Smile, Though Life Is Tough

How are you Hivers?

I came across @Princessbusayo's article about Things That Makes Me Smile. This reminded me of someone who told me, "it seems like your smile is expensive, you seldom smile."

When people see my photos, they would perceive me as a jolly and happy-go-lucky person. Someone enthusiastic and outgoing as I love exploring and wandering around different places. I never curved my lips down nor formed lines on my forehead in my photos. Unless it's a stolen shot.

There were several times when I took photo IDs in different photo shops, the assigned staff would say, "your smile is pretty" and I would literally form a smile on my face because being praised with beautiful words is soothing to ears, genuine, not the fake one. I do know how to distinguish both.

I do love smiling in photos, because that's what makes me pretty, lol. Without curves on my lips, I feel like I look too serious and mature. Albeit, when in an uncomfortable situation or facing people I don't like interacting with, I couldn't form a genuine smile, and I would rather fake it. But when with people I truly like and am comfortable talking with, smiles would come out willingly.

Little did you know that I seldom form a smile, most especially at work. My boss' daughter would always say that my smile is expensive and she likes making jokes and other funny things just to make me smile. My sister once told me that the heart's exercise is through laughing as she also saw me being serious most of the time at home.

I grew up absorbing the responsibilities of others, and when I was younger, I hated staying at home as I always had tasks to do and needed to babysit my younger siblings. So an upside-down smile was always painted on my face. My neighbor once told me, "stop frowning early in the morning, you'll get old too young."

And having a solemn face stayed until I grew up. Every time I see jolly people who like laughing and smiling, I would always tell myself, "how does it feel to always be happy?" Because seriously, even at work, I would pull a face unexpectedly that often led to misapprehension or misunderstanding.

Ask people about their first impression of me. They would probably say, "suplada(unapproachable/snobbish), very serious, or unfriendly." So only a few people approach me first. I do have a serious face, but I am not snobbish or unfriendly because I like befriending people I'm comfortable talking with.

But do you know that my real character appears online? It got me confused why, but that's the fact. So how you perceive me is the real me, very optimistic, but unsmiling most of the time at work. I am friendly to those who show a good personality to me, I am snobbish to those I am not comfortable talking with. It happens not just in the real world, but also in the online world. As I could feel who is genuine and who's taking me only for granted.

But what makes me smile?

Smiling is seldom to me, but I would become optimistic and my day would be complete when hearing appreciative words and genuine praises from others. It makes me flatter and I become more motivated to work harder and do better things. I smile when people appreciate my little effort and positive deeds. On the other hand, I hate those who only see my mistakes, take me for granted, and don't know how to appreciate my hard work. I hate those who accused me of things I didn't and will never do. I hate those thinking negatively against me without any proof. Not just at work, but in all cases, both real and digital world. A genuine appreciation and praise are what could motivate me to strive harder. But that feeling of being taken for granted and misjudged is what makes me unmotivated and feel like I am not good enough.

My smile may be expensive but appears genuinely when receiving small blessings. It is something not given to all people in this world, so appreciating the little things we receive is a way to smile. I smile when we have delicious food on your table. I smile when there are new clothes and other stuff in my wardrobe. I smile when my boss handed my salary to me, and frown when he forgets about it, lol. And I laugh out loud when I can see only a few coins are remaining in my purse, lol.

I smile when people say "Thank you" after receiving good things from me, tangible or intangible. I smile too when receiving something from others. I smile when achieving my little goals and something new in life. I smile when seeing new places and experiencing new things. I smile when an opportunity knocks on my door. I smile when people think positively about me. I smile when something good and beautiful happens.

Life without the people I love would be worthless. I smile when seeing my family happy and in a good state as I could say that my effort is worth it. Their smiles make me smile. Their laughter makes me happy. Knowing that they are healthy makes me grateful. Because I live for them and that's my main purpose in this world. Just to see them smile all day, I would be at ease.

Each day I wake up positively makes me smile in the morning and throughout the day. It is indeed true that "starting a day right with a smile would make us optimistic the whole day and attract more positives." Each day is a blessing and something to put on a smile, not until work throws stress on me. It is something I need to change to make me a mindful person. And that is one of my goals this year.

What makes me smile are not the material things but the genuine intangible ones. From this day onward, I would put on a curve on my lips and would stay happy and blessed each day.
Because every smile counts!