Just Smile

How many times has someone told you to smile? 😊NOW I'm talking to my ladies right now.....And you look up at them and give them either a real smile or a fake one? For me I just don’t understand the question.  And this question is usually asked by MEN. Why are you asking me to smile? What is that doing for you? Who really walks around with a smile plastered on their face all the time and if they do always have a smile I bet some people are looking at that person like something is really wrong with them. 

Come on lets be real if you saw a man or a women walking down the street with a huge Kool aid smile on their face and NO ONE around them they aren’t on the phone or reading a book or even listening to something they are alone walking down the street with a huge smile. What are your first thoughts? ME I’m thinking this person is crazy or high. I hate when someone asks or tells me to smile. Better yet I hate when someone tells me to smile. I don’t know maybe it’s the women in me saying who are you to tell me what to do? Or is that a black thing?? Mmmm??? Anyway.... like WTF smile?? For what? And why? Are you asking me to smile  because I’m a women and you think I need to be happy happy happy all the time? Or do you think I have a nice smile and you want to see it? Or do you see a little black girl and you don’t want me to be angry? WHAT IS IN A SMILE? I don’t know about you but when a man requires me to smile I give them the opposite of that….I give them resting bitch face…WHAT?

Story time: I use to work as a teller and one time a man came up to my window and I greeted him asked him how I could help him and he goes, smile it’s a beautiful day… WARNING: now I’m going to portray a typical stereotype about African American women that some might find upsetting so be ready…….. ….SO I looked at him with my faced just as tight as I could make it and said, “Excuse me? You say what now? Because I thought I asked how I could help you, not how you wanted my face to look?” and he responded back to me by saying… “I was just saying it’s a nice day outside and you in here looking all mean, I bet you have a pretty smile and you should smile more.” I again face tight and lips pressed now I’m leaning towards him because I’m at work and I'm trying to be cool, and I say “sir, I’m going to ask you again how I can help you today?” he must have really need a smile because he says to me, “oh so I’m not going to get a smile?” at this point I’m beyond annoyed because if he was trying to get my number he failed…and if he was trying to make conversation again he failed. And if he was trying to be nice again HE FAILED. I’m thinking to myself at this point why does he need this smile so bad? What is in it for him? Why do I need to smile? Why is he requesting that I smile? Now I do work in customer service and I should be more friendly I get that BUT one thing you NOT GONNA  DO *Hand clap* 👏 is tell me what do to…what bills are you paying…..wait wait….let me get back to the story I was having a moment there…..So I say to him, “my dog died and I didn’t feel like smiling so if we could move on to the transaction that would be nice.”

 

Now I tell this story because I really don’t understand WHY people (men) request smiles from random strangers or even people you work with or family? WHY do you want or need me to smile? OKAY I know you’re thinking , whats the big deal and you're right when you see a smiling face looking at you, you tend to smile back. Smiles are like yawns in that you tend to repeat them if you see them…they are infectious and they make people feel all warm inside. And yes I do smile often in fact but I don’t smile on command and I find it wired when people say, “oh you should smile” or “Why aren’t you smiling?” So my question to you is: Does it bother you when someone asks you to smile?

I think men use this great line opener as a way to be nice but I think they don’t understand that asking a women to smile is annoying because I have yet see a man tell another man to smile or ask for a smile. I don’t care if I’m at work, outside pumping gas or at the gas station pumping gas….DONT ask me to smile…I’m not here for you. What are your thoughts?