You Can See Many Smiles Every Day

Every day, you can see a lot of smiles.

But does it imply that the people sporting those smiles are joyful?
These days, we are surrounded by wounded individuals who are hiding their wounds behind sly smiles.

_{Image source}

The mask
It is easier for people to wear a mask,
What is a mask?
I'd say a mask is a shield,
seeing how dysfunctional the system is right now, people tend to shield themselves while deceiving and lying to themselves that they are happy when they are not.
Just writing on this reminds me of a movie titled "The Joker".
Surprisingly, that's what's playing in society today.
We are all a joker in a way or two.

_{Image source}

My story
Although I have a family I could talk to, I learned as a child to keep my problems and suffering to myself because I didn't know how to express them to others.
Why? You might be curious.

I just didn't feel the need to
Being a burden on others and being made to feel as though I am bothering them are two things I detest in life. Come on, call it pride, that's your call.
So I taught myself to rely solely on myself, from a young age, to be self-sufficient, and I taught myself not to discuss my problems with others because what's the point in bothering people who can't solve my problems?
I recall having a conversation with my oldest sister, who commented, "You're very secretive."
I responded to her, "Huh, they say you shouldn't wash your wrapper in public,"
She continued, "Even when you're dying, you'll keep quiet."
I quickly responded, "Well, because everybody has crap going on in their lives Besides you tell a problem to where you can get the solution," just to put an end to the conversation.

I became accustomed to hiding my true feelings behind a smile, even though doing so was heartbreaking.
I smile when I'm happy, when someone asks me how I'm feeling I just smile and say I'm fine even when I'm nervous,
And when I'm upset, I just ignore everyone and leave.
However, after a while, going through the classes of life I learned some interesting lessons that I would love to share.

_{Image source}

My lessons
There's no book to live this life, so we don't know what to get from it
Life teaches us lessons sometimes through suffering and other times through joy.

The more you ignore your pain, the more you are hurting yourself and doing more harm than good. Pains are not meant to be ignored.
Sometimes, to play the tough guy with no hard feelings, we don't feel the need to express our suffering because we think it's unnecessary.

But from my experience, I came to understand that sharing your pains doesn't mean you are weak, Even if other people make you feel like you are weak, always remember in your weakness lies your strength.

It's okay to not feel okay, to cry on someone's shoulder occasionally, to not always be strong, and it's definitely not okay to keep your pain to yourself, but that doesn't mean you should go around ranting to everyone; instead, learn to maintain balance.

Learn to be kind, you never know what the other person is going through even though they are smiling, and you never know when the mask is on.

Learn to communicate your feelings.
When you are happy, express it; when you are sad, don't repress it; and when you are angry, calmly talk it out. This is one thing that will help if you are seeking self-development like I am.

Although having a smile makes one beautiful, what matters most to me is also feeling beautiful on the inside. When the inside isn't amusing, it's exhausting and suffocating to put on a smile.
Free yourself and smile genuinely, because

You can see many smiles every day
But you can never know whose world is true upside down.