A SMiLE THAT CHANGED MY LiFE

...A smile that changed my LIFE..by Glicious

                      A friend had once asked me about what I wasn’t comfortable with when it came to my body and God only knows the list I came up with... I was like I don’t like this and that and that. The only things I kept were my eyes, my nose and my face in an overall. Why did I choose to keep these three as they were? It’s because I have memories that I wanted to cherish. I have been told and I actually believe I got my eyes from my dad and I look like my mom that much I know. I would keep them for they are my parent’s replicas. However, I recently went to visit my grandfather and I realized how wrong I was. The first thing I voted as something I would have liked to change was my smile (my teeth in particular), my forehead, my pimples and my long chin (I don’t believe its that long but that’s what I have been told so I would say I learnt to believe it)

              I would call my trip revolutionary! It was just one day spent with my old man but I learned a lot about him and more so about myself, I looked at him as he talked, observed every gesture he made, every facial expression and every wrinkle he had and I remember thinking that he was the most handsome old man I have ever known! I remember thinking that even George Clooney wouldn’t look so good when he is 84 years old! That’s when the magic happened…he smiled..With a smile which awakened happiness and warmth in my heart. And with no objection I smiled back to what then struck me as a very familiar gesture. I could remember I wished he does not stop smiling to me. That’s when it hit me! The smile that had awakened the warmth, relaxation and serene in me was familiar to me because I had spent generous amount of minutes criticizing. It in front of my bedroom mirror, I had been shallow by spending time thinking of ways to perfect it or stop it from showing or seen if it could not be perfected instead of concentrating on the message it is supposed to send, that of love, happiness and acceptance.

My friend called me stupid and crazy after I had listed down all the “defective” features and I came to realize from my trip that he was right.

                  My chin might be extra centimeters longer than the rest, my teeth a bit bent and my forehead a bit protruding, so what? What are teeth for? What is a forehead for? What is a chin for? They might not be fit to showcase but they sure do what they are supposed to. My chin was passed down through the genes of my dad and thus they stand for what my bloodline is...it is a mark of my origin and I hold my family line very dear to me. Then is it reasonable to want it changed? Can one change his bloodline? That is unthinkable!! As for my forehead, isn’t it from my dear mom? It definitely is. Have I had enough sentimental reminders from my parents? I don’t think so! Plus whatever material thing I have that reminds me of them will eventually perish but this face, this body physique will only perish with me. This face and body is the only thing that reminds of my past and with them I will create my future.