You Never Know What Someone Is Hiding Behind Their Smile

The little girl running up to her parents with her straight A’s? We don’t see her parents slaving day and night at work to make sure they could provide their little girl with an opportunity for education.

The little boy who is happily playing with his toy train in the corner of the classroom? We don’t see the backstory of how his sister had to save up her allowance to scrounge up enough money to buy that toy train her little brother saw in the window of the toy shop.

The girl with that wide smile on her face and who constantly tries to spread as much positivity as she can to her peers? We don’t see her the tears she subtly tries to brush away, nor do we see the look on her face when her heart is split in two.

The boy who is seen as the golden boy of his family and who could do no wrong? We don’t see the weight of the world on his shoulders as he struggles to keep up with that image of perfectionism.

The mothers who radiate light and are filled with pride when they talk about their children? We don’t see them bottling up emotions they wish they could express out of respect to others.

The dads who may not have the most conventionally prestigious jobs? We don’t see the love in their eyes when they take their kids to football practice or music lessons.

To you out there,
The you out there who may be struggling to come to terms with some news you received;
The you out there who may be wondering if you are where you’re supposed to be;
The you out there who may be contented but terrified of what may be coming next;
Have courage.
We may have fallen, or we may be at the top of the world right now;
But the very thing that defines us at the end of the day;
Is our heart.

There is so much more to life than
The ups,
The downs,
Our possessions,
Our riches.
Because in these moments,
Of feeling it all at once or nothing at all,
The most important thing comes down to who you spend those moments of joy and sadness with,
And how you choose to respond to them.
Because character;
Character is what defines us at the very end of the day.

So to you out there,
Take a moment to think of who you are – aside from all this;
Then,
Breathe.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Everything will fall into place, some day, somehow, eventually.