Just smile

If Barney didn’t smile, would he make kids happy? If the characters on Sesame Street weren’t constantly grinning, would there be millions of toddlers dancing around the room happily? I don’t think so. I believe that a smile always brings happiness.

When you think about it, in everything that is made to make you happy, people are smiling. In sing-a-long movies, parades, everything. People are always beaming. When you smile, and you really mean it, you get that tingly feeling in your stomach that you get when you are about to eat one of those giant cookies from Perkins, and you know you aren’t going to be able to finish the whole thing, but you’re going to try anyway. It’s a good feeling, a feeling of warmth, and well, happiness. You feel like your spirits are literally lifted into the sky. Like there are no more worries, just you and your smile. A smile that always makes you happy.

I got that “lifted into the sky” feeling once. It was the beginning of my soccer game, April 19th 2008, around 11:10 A.M. I was really getting into the game, scoring goals and running around the field like a maniac. “Come on guys, we can score another goal before the quarter is over!” I was saying. In a struggle to pass the ball to my team mate, I fell, and landed hard on my wrist. So hard, that it broke. It was painful, like someone was stabbing my wrist with a knife. Upset that I couldn’t play anymore and I would probably have to get a cast, I sat on the sidelines hoping and praying that the agony would disappear. I felt so useless, just sitting there with ice on my arm, a frown on my face, and tears in my eyes. There was nothing I could do but sit there and endure the pain. Then, I felt a drop of water on my shoulder. Oh great, I was thinking. Rain is just what I need. As I looked to my right, I discovered that it wasn’t rain getting me wet. It was Cheyenne, Kayla, and Rosie having a water fight. At first, I was just even more upset that I couldn’t be included. But then I started to smile. I felt so joyous, ready to dedicate myself to staring at the fierce blows of water from person to person. My smile just kept growing, getting bigger and bigger by the second! It seemed like all of my pain just escaped from my body, like nothing ever happened. “This is great!” I thought. “It is hilarious to watch them suffer from the freezing water!” In those brief moments when my face contained a smile that almost uncovered my almost non-existent dimples, I realized that I don’t need therapy or sympathy to feel better. All I need is a smile. This I believe.