Smile Like a Crazy Person

Every morning, my alarm goes off at 6:20, I get out of bed, brush my teeth, get in uniform, and get out the door at 6:45. Then I take a bus to the central bus station, and another bus to my base. Then it's a full day of work followed by those same two bus rides, only in reverse order. It makes for a long day, especially in the summer with the heat of this Mediterranean country. But in spite of all that, there are those days when I'm on the bus, whether it be the first or the third or even the fourth, and I find myself nodding my head to the beat of the music from my phone and smiling like a crazy person.

The smile is a pretty crazy phenomenon, as is the laugh. The body has natural reactions to everything. Happiness, sadness, anger, nervousness. But there is something about a smile that blows me away. It's the gateway to a persons inner most beauty. Especially when it's on a bus early in the morning or after a long day in the office. At those hours, most people are either trying to sleep through the jerky traffic, or trying to avoid all human contact because they're either too tired to deal or too hot and sweaty from the earlier mentioned Mediterranean heat. But then there's me. The blonde one smiling like a crazy person.

It is a very affirming smile. It is the smile of all smiles. It's the same crazy smile that a person gets at mile 12.5 of a half marathon. It's a smile of success and of victory. It's a smile that tells you that you're doing the right thing. It's uncontrollable, it's completely and totally captivating, and it's permanent, even if it only lasts a few seconds.  

So here's what I'm trying to say: at the least expected times on the least expected days, and when you're hot and sweaty or freezing your ass off, or even when you're so tired that your eyelids weigh more than life itself, smile like a crazy person. Even throw a little dance in there, it can't hurt.