Smile! But only if you want to.

“You should smile more!” 

That’s something I hear all the time… being told to many of my friends and family, and especially my trans friends. And I hate it… why? Because telling someone they should smile can come off as very patronizing, and no one should be told to express something that isn’t who they are. 

With that being said, nobody has to tell me to smile… because I do it all the time! I LOVE smiling, and I see my personality come out strongly when I smile…

But I smile because it’s a “me” thing. I smile because I love doing it. Telling someone else to smile would be like telling me to not smile. And I wouldn’t like that very much.

So Smile! But only if you want to!

Hugs,

Alicia