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A smile on the outside is only smile

A smile with deeper thoughts

By Frances HelenaPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Goats in Palmerston North, New Zealand

A smile is just a smile on the outside because people see an illusion, when I smile it’s because I have too because, in reality no one cares about how you feel or how you think. This picture was taken in New Zealand back in 2015, and before I came to New Zealand I was going through an experience that no one else could understand. My parents had separated and I was more than happy about it because, they were just not right for each other. My Mother, had always smiled because she had too, she didn’t have the skills to adapt to a new country, so she married someone back in the 80s. My Father, had gone to a new family or wherever he was going and it was hurtful but it was okay, nothing knew, so I would just smile and say, he left for work overseas – which is what he always did, worked overseas but was doing something else.

I decided to leave for New Zealand, had never been to New Zealand and had always wanted to go. I always saw pictures of places; how green and beautiful it was and it was time for a change in my life. I left Australia with only $300 and some people thought I wouldn’t last staying in New Zealand because at the time I was in Brisbane and wasn’t coping either. But, I still managed to smile and keep going, trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself, escaping to New Zealand seemed like a better option. I wouldn’t know anyone there, I would be a new person, invent a new me, meet new people and explore a whole new country.

I met a New Zealand host family, a family of three, the mother of the family had recently passed away last year (2020), she was very unwell. She was a kind and caring lady, who always thought of other people, this picture was actually taken at her sister’s place in a city north of Wellington (New Zealand’s capital city) called, Palmerston North. The younger sister owned a farm and built this place up from the ground, when I see the goats, they just make you realise, life is short, make it count. They smile because, perhaps they want to be around people, they smile because there are people wanting to see them, the smile because their life is full – eat, sleep, play and repeat right? What does a goat do all day? Look pretty and smile? Or do they smile because they need company but, they do have each other right?

I enjoyed our time up there, there was heaps of animals up here chickens, roosters, no cages and just fences, roaming around freely. That’s why one should smile, the freedom of not having to answer to anyone, the freedom of just enjoying your life, the freedom of just being yourself, just eating and sleeping when you want too. A smile is an illusion on the outside, to hide away pain, sorrow and suffering, a smile is more than just a feeling or emotion, it’s a face that says, it’s going to be okay, no matter what happens in the day or week. A smile, might make another person walking by, make their day better. But, in truth, a smile should make you feel better as a person, it should make you aware of what you are processing or dealing with. A smile should be counted as a blessing for what is to come the next day, whether you are in touch with nature, the outdoors, animals, a new place or people. A smile is all you have to make yourself be better and get through the day, when you see another person smile, it makes your day better too. So, when you see your friends smile, check on them, see if they are okay because, like these goats a smile goes along way.

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About the Creator

Frances Helena

After today, I Frances Helena, now gets paid for writing articles, my latest article is with Every Minority, should be published in a few days. I love writing, I'm so proud that now I am able to get paid for it.

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