Smile

My mother always told me to smile.

“Smile it makes the world wonder what you’re up to.” That’s what she always said. My mother always taught me that if I smiled I could make my way out of anything.

“It causes a positive outlook on things.” She always had the greatest advice, and it always had to do with my smile.

“When you smile you light up the room and everyone you look at can’t help but smile with you, but when you frown you scare even those who are dead.” My mother always smiled, she said I had her smile.  I never believed her, her smile was one of the brightest most beautiful things in the world, I miss it…I miss her.

My mother died taking a shot to the heart in a drive by shooting, the bullet would have hit a little girl but my mother pushed her out of the way, she died a hero, with a smile on her face.  Even at her funeral she was smiling. 

The fact that she died made me lose my smile for a while, but then I looked in the mirror and smiled for the first time since she died and I realized that I was putting her memory to shame if I didn’t smile. 

So that day I walked out of my room with a smile on my face and my father looked like he saw a ghost for a second.  Then he smiled, too.

“You look like your mother; her smile brightened every corner of the world, and so can yours.” I miss my mother but I will honor her memory with my smile.

So yea, when the cheerleaders make fun of me for playing hockey or the jocks say I act too much like a guy, I will keep smiling. And with that smile the world will wonder what I’m up to, because that’s what I’m good at.

“I hope you’re watching me mom, I’ll smile for you. I’ll change the world with my smile, just like you wanted to.”