"Smile!" my friend shouted before snapping a photo of me. I immediately asked to see it, seeing as how the last time I smiled in a picture was probably 2010. When I saw my face, I was horrified! I didn't look happy at all, in fact I looked sad and slightly gassy. What happened? I used to smile all the time, it was my go-to selfie pose, but now I realize my smile has been replaced by a look that can only be described as fierce.

What started as a personal goal of looking on fleek has now ruined my ability to smile like a normal person. Now, whenever someone pulls out their camera I glare at them, staring deeply into their soul through the lens. Buy why?

It started back when the all-knowing Tyra banks introduced us to the word 'Smize.' Soon, young women everywhere were channeling their inner Naomi Campbell. The phrase “say cheese,” now obsolete, has been replaced by phrases like “werk, ma” and “yassssssss, boo.”

It’s not like we don’t know how to smile anymore, we just don’t want to. What’s the point of smiling for a photo if all the comments sound like things your mom would say, “so pretty,” “luv ya girl.” It turns out happy girls, aren't the prettiest girls anymore. We don’t want to be loved for our looks or considered sweet! We want to be hated, envied and feared; our comments section should read “omg werk” *inserts praying hands here emoji* because in the end we’re only doing it for The Gram.

And it is hard work! The smize does not come naturally, I know girls who have practiced theirs for years, going from a confused and constipated duck to magazine cover material. Some would even call this an epidemic; people have started to center their photos and their lives around their non-existent smile. Group photos used to capture memories, but now it’s a full on photo-shoot whenever we go out. And at this point I’m surprised people don’t carry a light reflector and tripod along with their iPhones.

Anyone who has mastered the smize can’t go back—their smile will just never be the same. Over the years I have gone from practicing my smize, to showing off my smize, and now I do it for almost every photo without even realizing! And now with the evolution of makeup, and everyone contouring a little way to hard, people aren't smiling because they want to show off that new matte lipstick kit they got for $30 at Sephora. So while we might receive a million red hearts on The Gram, people might honestly think we've forgotten how to be happy...and are they that wrong? Photos used to capture moments of happiness, but now they create happiness for people who feed off of their social media comments.

In reality, the more angry or sad you look online, the more likes you'll get. And it's time to ask ourselves, does this seem right to you? At the end of the day, instagram likes feel so right, but we must remember how to thrive without them. I mean, honestly, can you remember the last time you actually smiled for a photo? And no the sexy smirk does not count. So let's try to bring the smile back, and if you can't do it for humanity, at least do it for the gram.