As I wedged my way through a crowd to retrieve my meal at a Young Republicans lobster bake, I noticed that two men who no longer seemed to qualify as “young” were watching me. Sometime later, I found myself face to face with one of the elderly men. He met my eyes with genuine warmth in his own and asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you have an incredible smile?”
What is notable about my smile is not that it is exceptionally white or straight, but that it is always showing. My default facial expression is a wide and sometimes goofy grin with an enormous dimple in my right cheek. I smile as I walk through the halls at school, when I’m nervous, and sometimes while I cry. It’s difficult to catch me without a smile, even when a smile may not be completely appropriate for the situation. I think one of the reasons I smile is because I can see a little beauty, a smidge of humor, and a positive point in every area of life. Regardless of the reason, my face falls naturally into this position.
I have grown fond of my near-constant smile, and I embrace this little quirk of mine. It reminds me and those I interact with that we can laugh at our mistakes, embrace our eccentricities, and find happiness in the smallest of instances. I have been told that my smile is contagious, and I can’t think of anything better to smile about.