Do Smiles Change?

My coworker and friend posted this little phrase on Facebook that said: “I like to think that no matter where life takes us our smile will stay the same.” At first I thought it was a super cute little motto. She even posted this cute little photo that had pictures from her childhood and a picture of her now and her smile was exactly the same. But then I started thinking about it and I realized that the statement she had made wasn’t exactly true. I know people who’s smiles have changed.

I have another friend who has had family troubles and you can look at her family pictures and almost pick out where those troubles started, because her smile changed. It went from wide, happy, care free, little girl to small, forced and closed. You can tell something big changed. A family dynamic must have changed, maybe something traumatic happened, or a mental health condition developed that put a strain on the relationships in the situation. But you can tell something was different.

One thing about smiles is; they don’t lie. It is very hard to fake a convincing smile. A person’s smile can tell you a lot about them. If you look close enough you might be surprised at how often your friend’s smile is hiding pain. People change and so do their smiles. Some people are just better at hiding it than others, of course, there are people who’s smiles don’t have anything to hide.

So if you have the same smile as when you were a little kid, think of yourself as lucky because not everyone gets to have that privilege. Smiles can be one of the most beautiful things about someone, especially when it’s not what would be considered perfect by most standards. Every smile is uniquely beautiful.