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I smile.. a lot.

That isn’t an exaggeration either. Anyone who has ever been in the same room as me can attest that about 95% of the time, I am smiling. I love to do it. I love to do it partly because I wore braces for four years so I love to show off my pearly whites but also because whenever I do, I feel good. I could be having a completely terrible day, someone or something makes me smile, and I completely feel better.

I’m not sure 100% why. I’ve just always been this way. All I need to know is that I love smiling and feel good doing it. (Just in case you are interested, I would highly recommend Marianne LaFrance’s  Why Smile: The Science Behind Facial Expressions. It really gives an in depth look into facial expressions and what they mean.)

Unbelievably, I see so many people who just don’t. They say they want to avoid wrinkles, or they just don’t have anything to smile about. Well I say, there are many things to smile about. Like the fact that hello! You’re alive to see another day? So may people take it for granted and don’t realize how uncertain life truly is. Seeing that you’ve beat the odds for that day and actually got to live, I’d count that as a win! Or how about smiling because you have a roof over your head, or that you’ve got food to eat. There are many people in the world who don’t have those two basic things. Hell, there are people that don’t have access to clean water so if you want you can smile about that too. There are plenty of reasons to smile, you just have to allow yourself to do so. I really don’t know about the wrinkles, but my best bet is that you’ll probably still get them regardless.

I think that even if I didn’t smile at the little victories throughout my day, I would ultimately end up doing so just being around the people I love. My best friend Collin and I have a blast in each others company. It’s like no matter what we know the other will laugh at the others jokes or weird actions. (We are a hoot!)

But maybe life is harder on you than most. You find it difficult to smile because of unfortunate circumstances that were out of your control. I understand, I’ve been there. But trust me when I say; making the decision to laugh and smile goes a long way. Even the tiniest bit of laughter can make you feel better about what lies ahead, or even just get you through the rest of the day. Life is full of little treasures, you just have to find them and enjoy them.

Smiling helps me get through what ever obstacle or bad day I may be experiencing. It makes me heal from pain, and helps me bounce back into my original self. If you take the time out of your day to laugh or smile I guarantee you’ll feel happier and more ready to hit any of life’s curve balls.

Batter up.