Smiling at Strangers

Why do humans smile? 

Emotions are one of the most compelling things about humanity. Are we born with them? Are they universal? What are their purpose?

Yeah, there are all those evolutionary answers about how they helped us survive and such. Cool but whatever. Research has shown that even though emotions can be  expressed differently across cultures, we all have them and they are similar, if not the same. Babies are born with the ability to emote, but they may be developed differently through nurturing. 

I believe we have emotions to connect us to others because that is truly what life is all about. When one feels pain, we can sympathize and cry with them. When another feels joy, there is nothing better than sharing that happiness. Emotions make us who we are, and without them we would be no different from the rest of the animal kingdom. 

What about smiling? Ask people what smiling means, and they'll generally answer happiness. Not necessarily though. There are two types of smiles: fake and Duchenne. Fake smiles are... fake--they don't reach the eyes, meaning they don't actually have the emotion of happiness behind them. On the other hand, a Duchenne smile is genuine, reaching the eyes and showing the light we all innately have.

I started something at the beginning of the year where I would walk to and from class smiling at people, counting the smiles I received in return. Some may dismiss me as a weird girl, but I find that sometimes I receive a Duchenne smile in return. As I walk past this person, I hope I made their day just a little bit better. Not only does smiling improve moods, but it reduces stress, lowers heart rate, boosts immune systems, and increase longevity.

So you could probably just call me the smile doctor.