The Art of Smiling

When I did my Positive Beauty Pledge a couple of weeks ago, one of the most important things that I learnt about myself, is the fact that I look my best when I'm smiling. But, just like Nicola Roberts, of Girls Aloud fame, I am not a naturally smiley-type of person. And when I do smile, I always worry that I look like Nicola Roberts, in the sense that because she's very aware that people have noticed that she isn't a naturally smiley person, when she does smile they look forced and unnatural.

Image from Google

I'm definitely a firm believer that a natural smile can only be achieved when something really does make me warm and happy inside. So, when I'm not feeling 100% comfortable, that smile just isn't going to come along. I guess, I'm just one of those people that is completely incapable of hiding how I really feel about something, emotionally and on the surface.

In some ways this is a really nice thing, but through my School days, it was an absolute nightmare, and I still get sick of the comment: "Cheer up, it'll never happen." Just because I don't have a smile permanently attached to my face, does not mean that I'm not happy, it just means that I'm not entirely comfortable with the person shooting the comment at me.

So, how do I know that Nicola Roberts isn't a naturally smiley person? Well, anyone who watched the recent episode of How I Met Your Mother will probably know the answer to that question. The gang were trying to figure out why they had this underlying "fear" of Kyle MacLachlan's character The Captain. And the reason was because, even though his mouth was smiling, his eyes were angry, as you can see in this still from the episode:

How I Met Your Mother

So, to really exemplify this point, let's take a lookie at this picture of Nicola..

Nicola Roberts, Girls Aloud

Okay, so her mouth might be giving us a smile, but if you look at her eyes, they don't look happy. They're not bright and cheerful, and hence her smile looks unfortunately fake. This isn't anything against Nicola, she just isn't a natural smiler, and that's okay, I just wish the media would leave her alone about it. She's a beautiful young woman, with issues of her own, and I am certain that she does not need the media adding to it.

Of course smiling makes a girl look prettier, but surely a natural smile that says that a person is comfortable is more important than forcing them to. Perhaps if the media laid off her, she'd feel more comfortable in public and she'd smile a bit more, without feeling forced into it.

Are you all naturally smilers, and do you think that a smile makes a person look better?