When People Tell You to Smile...

I saw a motivational poster on Tumblr today which said "Smile."

And I am all for smiling — if you’re happy, if you feel like smiling. 

But if you aren't happy, if you don't feel like smiling, that’s okay, because you are probably feeling a lot of other things at the moment, even if you are happy.

Smiling is a performative act, used to console, comfort, mollify, appease, or please if it is not instinctive, self-initiated, or involuntary. Value your ability of expression. Never underestimate the beautiful nuances that you can communicate with your face.

So don’t smile. Be expressive. Twist your face into crazy shapes to get your point across. Be emotive. Contort your mouth and eyebrows to give whatever you’re facing the full understanding of all those complex feelings going on inside of you that you don’t know how to put into words. Be unafraid. And don’t let anyone tell you to smile if you don’t feel like it. 

There is a glorious complexity going on between your skin and your bones. Use it to show the world how you really feel.