Smile!!!
<-- This guy does it correctly
^
Emo Hitler does it wrong
He just needs to turn it upside down--->
So you might be
WONDERING
why...
I have so much about smiles...
well.... [can you tell I like girls ellipses?] I have to tell you something. The other day I realized [or rather I was told]
that I have an amazing smile.
It's
not one of those things you usually see in yourself === I certainly
HOPE not === but such has been said too many times very recently and
over time that I'm beginning to believe it. I mean it's really one of
the things that people comment most on to me. "Wow Bourne! You're
always smiling!" "Don't you ever stop smiling!?!?"
And I also try very hard to make sure everyone around me has a good reason to smile. A smile from me (they're infectious), a joke, or I'll even do something absurd and totally outrageous. [band anyone?]
Let me be Frank. Actually... I'd rather just be myself.
Poor pun aside (and a bit above)
I'm not really all that proud of my body.
MONGO CONFESSION SECTION!!!
My body is nice and strong and such... but it's... hard to explain. The only part of it I'm somewhat proud of
IS
MY LEGS!!!!
Isn't that beautiful? Alright alright. It's a low quality picture and tacky but I like it.
Now
back to the main topic of this post. My smile. The most recent example
of the power of my own smile goes back to a day earlier this week. I was
hanging out in the mall with some friends. Two girls walked into the
store (Pac Sun or whatever) and they were cute. My friends (two of which
were on shift at the store) saw me look and dared me to flirt with
them. Naturally, me being the bashful guy I am, just smiled and blushed
and looked away. Then I felt the eyes upon me. I looked up and made eye
contact and I guess I smiled. I continued talking with my friends and
awkwardly not making eye contact with either of those girls. But I would
casually look over and everytime I did that they happened to look over
at me.
Right after they left, a girl friend I was with (notice the space?)
started going crazy. She was amazed that somehow I had managed to flirt
with the girls without even going over and talking to them.
This really started me thinking... what is a smile? What does it do?
“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” --Mother Teresa of Calcutta
I
then realized that I smile, not only for me, but for others. I smile
nonstop when people see me, because I'm always enjoying the presence of
others.
I LOVE being with and around people.
And that makes me happy inside. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” -- Thich Nhat Hanh quotes (Vietnamese Monk, Activist and Writer
And I also have learned that throughout my life, I've always tried to make others around me smile and feel some happiness. Why? I know not. Probably because everybody looks good with a smile on their face :D
Then
there are times where I remember how great it is to have something to
smile about. I look back at my Freshman year. Before I moved to
Timpview, I lived in a middle of nowhere town and had tons of awesome
friends that I could go hang out with and do anything at anytime. Life
was amazing.
Then I moved.
I
had been uprooted and now lived in a place that always had noise and
thousands of people. I went to a school where I wouldn't be able to
know everybody's name (though I sure tried over the years) just through
sheer dint of numbers.
Being
as it was January, everyone knew everyone and was totally comfortable. I
wasn't. Coming from a small, middle of nowhere town was rather hard for
me. The Commons were a constant struggle just because I did not want to
be rude at all and perchance offend somebody (don't worry I got over
that worry). And to make matters more difficult, I had that issue almost
every person that moves in to a new place has.
Making new friends was hard.
It
took me about two months to really make a few friends (Thank you band)
that I would hang out with at school. Before that point I went to
classes, felt embarrassed I knew the answer to every question {small
classes move through material faster than big classes}, ate lunch ALONE in the cafeteria, then watched the chess club play chess. After which I'd go back to sitting in the corner in class.
What
does any of this have to do with me smiling? It made me appreciate the
power of a smile. People say that a smile can really make a person's
day. Fact is, the saying is true. I made it a specific goal in my life
to help others smile. What has it gotten me? Well it has turned my
smile....
into a...
Smile of HAPPINESS
 | |||||||||
| SUCCESS!! ^.*
The End!
Okay,
you caught me. That was not in fact the end of the post. But I rather
had you fearful of the end for maybe two seconds right?
Today, I will type of a concept that has seriously been nagging in the back of my mind for the past month.
The subject at hand? Just the word popular.
You may be more than a tad quizzical as to why this word has been irking my psyche. Honestly, it's something I never wanted to be. Everyone knows the popular people are complete snots that spend their hours attempting to contemplate a new routine of crushing and attacking anyone and everyone.
Coming
from a rural area, I never saw one of these stereotypical popular
persons. Everyone was (more or less) friends with everyone. Sure there
were a few declared blood feuds, but EVERYONE was civil, if not outright
kind. We all knew that only city kids could possibly be so mean to one
another.
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