I have a confession to make: I have a disease. It's not chronic. I am not going to die. I have RBF. RBF stands for "Resting B*tch Face." RBF is when a person, usually female, naturally looks mean when her face is expressionless without meaning to. It isn't that you aren't friendly if you have RBF, you just don't look friendly. Living with RBF can be a huge problem for everyday life. Here are a few struggles that people who have RBF go through every day.
1. On the inside, you feel like you are the epitome of happiness.
2. On the outside, you look like you want to rip out someone's heart.
Your face doesn't show every emotion that you ever feel. Even if you are happy, your face may not show it.
3. You get asked, "Why do you look so mad?" many times throughout the day.
You may not even be mad at that point, but you will be if people keep asking you if you are mad.
4. People constantly ask, "Are you okay?"
5. You are constantly being told to smile.
Please don't tell me to smile again.
6. You never do.
7. You have the sudden epiphany that you have been scowling all day.
It's an "Ah ha!" moment when you realize that you haven't been wearing your fake smile all day.
8. It's a blessing.
No one has tried to talk to you all day, so you haven't had to deal with the ridiculousness of stupid people.
9. It's also a curse.
Being unapproachable is never a good thing. If people can't approach you, they might get scared when you approach them.
10. When you are actually mad, you have to get extra mad so that people take you seriously.
11. You are a survivor and you will make it through the day.
If you ever encounter someone with RBF, and I know that you will, don't be a pest. Don't ask them a thousand times if they are OK. Don't tell them that they look angry (we know that we look angry, there isn't anything that we can do about it). Just ignore the look on their face and go about your day.
