A smile, so powerful yet so many different meanings. So much can be said with just a simple facial gesture. The generalization of a smile is that that person with the smile on their face is happy, carefree, and is enjoying the moment or that day. But how do we know that? A smile can hide so much pain, anger, and sadness. It can be used as a shield to hide those emotions. It seems to me that now a days fake smiles are seen more than a true, genuine smile.

For example, I love the thought of that you never know what anyone else is going through, or struggling with until you actually know them. It is so true. It is like when we see pictures of people on social media, people whom are famous and we do not personally know them, they will put up a picture of themselves with their family or their loved one and we might say "ugh their life is perfect" or "she/he is goals" no ones life is perfect. Why would we assume from a picture of them smiling with their family, and them looking pretty that their life is perfect? We have zero knowledge on what is truly going on in their life. They could be struggling with things that one can not imagine going through.

It is the same idea as with someone whom you may know. They may show up to work, or school every day with a big smile on their face and this fake persona of happiness, when deep down they are aching and hurting more than you know.

From personal experience a smile was my perfect guard or shield from having to open up to someone about what my emotions were at that point and time. Or when I wouldn't want to show someone I was hurt I would plaster that smile on my face and fake that everything was okay. It can be concerning and quite scary wondering what people may be going through. Even your closest friends may be struggling with something deep down that we don't even know about.

The worst is when you are naturally a smiley, happy, bubbly, outgoing person, so it sometimes feels like the minute you drop that smile into a straight face people worry. Like do we have to smile to show that everything is okay?

My point is a smile means so many things that there is not just one reason for a smile. So many different emotions flood your mind which triggers a smile. A smile can be your shield, your weapon, but it can also mean true happiness and laughter.