SMILE!

Smile!
a kate west reflection





It's a mystery as to this country's obsession with each other's outward happiness. Have you ever gotten the impossibly irritating "Smile!" admonition from a stranger? And how many of you are female - do men even get that question? Probably not as often as women, if ever, since we are sugar and spice and everything nice and supposed to be pleasantly innocuous.

So is it really any of your business what my inner state is? Are you that insecure that you need me to validate you that way - through a smile? I know you think it's a friendly gesture, but it has a more sinister intent, subconscious or no. You want me to make you feel comfortable. And that's not my job. Please, worry about yourself and your own inner state, no need to infringe on mine. I'm fine, or not, but either way, I'll handle it, thank you.