That five minute conversation with a guy at the laundromat last Tuesday changed how I think about my own fake smiles.

He said "you look like you're carrying something heavy under that grin" and for some reason it hit me harder than any lecture from a friend ever has, has anyone else had a total stranger just nail you like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

karen_sanchez491mo ago

Has anyone else had a cashier or bus driver just casually call them out on their mood (like it was no big deal) and it totally threw you off for the rest of the day? I had a lady at the grocery store once tell me my shoulders looked "real tight" while she was ringing up my milk and bread, and I almost cried right there at the register. It made me realize how much I've been walking around with that fake smile, but also how much I hated showing the real me to anyone, even strangers.

vera_johnson91mo ago

My friend Matt had this happen to him at a Dunkin Donuts on 34th Street last spring. The cashier, some older guy with a mustache named Lou, handed him his coffee and just said "you're doing that thing where you smile but your eyes don't move." Matt told me it stopped him cold because he'd been putting on that same tight grin for his boss all morning. @karen_sanchez49 that's exactly the kind of moment he described later - like Lou saw right through the armor he didn't even realize he was wearing. He said he actually went back the next day to thank the guy, and Lou just shrugged and said "I see a lot of faces, kid.