A smile Unnoticed

I have a story for you. You'll probably learn something, so please, pay attention.

This story is about a guy. His name is Jay. Jay is well known as a great person who's always in a great mood. Whenever and wherever you see him, he's smiling. The people around him smiles as well. Whether it's friends, family, or just random people, he gets everyone smiling and in a wonderful mood. If Jay says "hi" or "hey" you better believe everyone in that area is gonna go from a bad mood into a great mood in an instant. Everyone relied on him to enlighten the mood. Everyone loved him for that.

But Jay isn't what you think he his though. Behind that smile, before his interactions, there was trauma and suffering. Outside of everything else, Jay dealt with a lot of things. Jay was truly unhappy behind his smile and outgoing attitude. But he couldn't show anybody how he really felt because people had expectations; the people needed him for his smiles. Going through his problems and holding the weight that people need him, ultimately made him feel worse. On top of that, Jay felt as if nobody cared of his feelings or cared to listen.

One day, Jay walked around, but this time not bearing a smile. For once, Jay was showing how he truly felt through his facial expressions. Walking by everyone, he listened as they greeted him, and Jay gave a partial greeting to everyone. They knew something was going on, so they ask why he isn't smiling. Jay just gives a partial shrug and tries to go about his day. Nobody would leave it alone. Everyone tells Jay that he's supposed to be smiling, that he needs to smile, and he can't stop smiling. So, Jay started smiling again. But this time, his smile was forced. More forced than what he's used to.

From that point, things for Jay took a mental turn for the worse. Every day that he walked around prior to that day, Jay has felt worse and worse. Jay walked around day after day feeling hopeless, feeling like nobody cares. This would go on for weeks until Jay shuts down. Jay stayed home for weeks, isolating himself from the outside world and everything else. Jay wanted to be alone and think. Without a doubt, Jay thought about letting people know what was going on. Jay never went through with his thought. Jay thought that nobody would really care, or nobody would give the help that he needs. So, Jay kept everything to himself, trying to figure out things.

As time passed, Jay started feeling a little better. He'd get out of the house but wouldn't leave the area of his home. For him, that was a big milestone. Jay started overthinking at one point. Thinking that what if the same thing repeats after he's stable enough to go back out there. Having that thought put him back to square one. For another week, he trapped himself inside of his home. Eventually, Jay was back outside. But this time, he didn't go anywhere. He only sat outside, watching the people go by. To him, he felt at peace with himself.

One day, Jay went to the park to admire the outdoors. He sat on the empty bench, being caught in his thoughts. Jay sat for hours thinking about himself and how he has a big impact on the people around him. A guy comes up and sits next to Jay. They both sat in silence for a few minutes. The guy asks Jay how long has he felt that way. Jay looks up in shock, then turns to the guy. The guy tells Jay not to say anything and to just listen. And this is what he had to say to Jay.

"You're here in the present, but your mind is still in the past. You had to put up with a lot and keep things in, which is why you smile everywhere you go. You don't trust anybody to share your problems with and that's not a bad thing. But it also hinders yourself mentally. You spread love and joy everywhere for multiple reasons. But your main reason is to keep anyone from worrying about you. So, when you're asked if things are okay, you'll always say that you're fine. You're a fucking great person; a wonderful person at that. But you wear your heart on your sleeve. You can go about my advice however you want. You have a choice between evolving and repeating, every morning you wake up. I want you to think about everything I just said."

The guy walks off. Jay walks home very confused about what just happened. Jay spends hours and hours thinking about everything he just said. And then Jay finally realizes the meaning behind what he said to him. Immediately, he starts crying and he told himself that tomorrow will be the day. Tomorrow came and Jay was ready to face everybody. Jay faced everybody with a really big smile, but this smile had great meaning to it. Everyone was happy to see Jay again for the first time in weeks, greeting him with open arms. When everyone asked where he had been, Jay said he was dealing with some things but now he's back and better. That answer made them happy, and from there, everyone started catering for Jay. And Jay couldn't have been any happier, especially since he learned an important lesson that he'll always keep with him.