Jessica Glover

2009 Plant City High School

"When someone wants to get ahead of me in traffic,I would raise my hand, as if I was going to make a negative gesture, and then I would wave and smile...And you know what?  A lot of times they smiled back." Tuesdays With Morrieby Mitch Albom

 A smile is an act of giving: simple and beautiful, expensive in neither monetary terms nor effort.  Yet a single smile may reverberate down streets, across cities, and over waterways.  It means something unique to every person.  To me, it means that there are still people who can see past the inhumanity of the world and live a life of "organized innocence"�, as the poet William Blake called it.  All of us are disillusioned as we walk through life, but it takes strong individuals to find greater joy beyond superficial experiences.  A sincere smile means that a person has been able to find this special happiness in the world, if only for a few moments at a time.  The more others and I smile represents a greater movement toward happiness and humanity.

I can feel good about myself if I make one person smile each day.  Their smiles illuminate my life and are contagious throughout.  Contagious has negative connotations, certainly, but a smile is innocuous and lovely.  A friendly smile is never the sole cause of a dispute and probably prevents a sizeable number of arguments.  A smile is a way for me to show others that I respect them; I am engaged in what they are saying.  It shows others that I am interested in them.  It is a gateway to a world of comfort and kindness.  A smile encourages, supports, soothes, and settles.  When a person is comfortable with himself, he will naturally be a refuge for others to seek relief, whether or not he realizes it.  He will smile.  Another person will smile.  And yet another person will smile in response.  A smile represents a continuous chain of reassurance and love.  It is contagious and, for once, a plague would be welcome.

That communicability is shown in the quote at the beginning of this essay.  The quote is from a biography of the late Morrie Schwartz, former professor of sociology at Brande is University, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 1994.  Morrie devoted his life to others, and his biography is filled with selected quotes from several interviews completed in the months prior to his death.  In this particular quote, Morrie says that the most natural act of smiling and waving at a passer-by elicits a similar response in most situations. This demonstrates the power of a single smile.  It shows a smile is more than a gesture; it is an affirmation of kindness, respect, and civility.  There is nothing similar.  It can be repeated but never replicated.  Each smile is entirely distinctive yet the same.  A smile symbolizes the paradox of undying love and kinship among all of humanity and nature.  The bond is essentially the same; however, the physical manifestations of the bond change continually.

To me, smile means that we have recognized our similar struggle as humans, accept it, and are now working to lessen our burdens.  When I smile, I know I still have much in life to look forward to.  When others smile, I know they do too.  Smiles are simply and complexly life-affirming.