Cellphonebill-graduateschool-tuitionfees-rashonmyarm—I was walking to Robarts after a class, while a million thoughts floated through my head. Another typical day: me walking around U of T, in my own world. I’m fine with chilling solo, but in an institution with over 55,000 students, it’d be nice if people could smile at each other once in a while. Could they at least not lower their heads as they attempt to avoid all human contact, passing on the street?! I’m learning that unlike at McD.’s, the smiles at U of T are not free. Anyways, the stress was accumulating and I was annoyed with the straight faces and shifty eyes. “Would it kill ya to smile?” someone called out, interrupting my mope session. What? A voice other than my own? I was taken aback because, trust me, most U of T students do not randomly talk to each other. I then realized that in my pensive state the corners of my mouth had drooped downwards: I had become one of those students! I looked up to see that there was a smiling face behind the voice, and then I couldn’t help but grin back.
I continued my stroll beaming like an idiot with an all-tooth smile. That stranger’s comment pulled me out of my stress. Smiles are contagious! There I was, criticizing other people for simply not grinning at passersby, meanwhile I had my face in a frown. Other than the folks down at Sesame Street, not many people want to smile at a grouch.
This point was further emphasized a couple of weeks later when I was walking around campus, but this time indulging in remembering a recent funny conversation with a friend. From the start, I was grinning like a fool. As I was crossing the street, I heard a voice say, “Hi Smiley!” and I looked up to see a beaming face smiling back at me, for no other reason than to be nice.
This may sound odd to some people: a stranger, downtown, smiling at you for no reason? Run! But in fact, it was no weirdo—just a friendly person. Although it may not be the norm, there are friendly people out there who do smile, just because. Here I was, now one of those people… umm, identity crisis? Not really. It’s true that some people are perfectly content looking at the ground when passing other students, but for the rest of us it usually takes a smile to get a smile.
Although dreary days are unavoidable, there are always two ways to approach a situation. Somehow, even if it takes all your might to fight the grouchiness, forcing a grin onto your face can be the best way to see the silver lining. Babies and old people do it when they pass gas, and at 21 there are even more reasons to do as Guy Smiley does. Say Cheese! Or Chimpanzee! Well, just do whatever it takes for your mouth to end up like the saying goes: “Turn that frown upside down.” You’ll be surprised at the power of “Cheese!
