A Smile a Day...

Rhetoric can essentially be defined as the art of successful public communication, whether spoken or written. But what is successful public communication without body language? Oftentimes, our bodies communicate more effectively than our language does. How does this play into “civic life”, or being a valuable citizen and asset to society? For me, the answer is simple. I can use body language in my everyday life to improve the lives of my fellow citizens. Yeah, it’s as simple as that. Our “Generation Y” is predisposed to always performing with minimum effort to achieve anything. Some of us might think, “Being a valuable citizen by improving the lives of others? Takes too much time. No thanks.” Think again, Generation Y. It only takes 26 face muscles and merely 1 millisecond to smile and spread happiness to your fellow citizenry. Can’t even spare 1 millisecond? Well, you burn more calories the more you smile. I hope I have you convinced. As a person who has been told countless times that she has a naturally angry facial structure, I have always made a conscious effort to smile, or at least look happy. But it wasn’t until high school that someone advised me that smiling at a stranger can make their day. For some reason, this fragment of advice stuck with me. Maybe it’s because when I find myself to be the recipient of a random smile, my outlook instantly experiences an optimistic boost, helping me to welcome everyday challenges with a ready attitude. Sometimes, I feel like a semi-idiot smiling at strangers on my walks to class, and it isn’t until that smile is reciprocated with a sense of gratitude that I am encouraged to keep on handing out smiles. I’ve noticed that smiling tends to have a type of “domino effect” on humankind. I smile at a stranger walking by in Penn State's HUB, and they return the smile, continuing to smile at the next person they encounter while leaving the building. That person extends the gesture, and so on. I believe that this domino effect allows people to become valuable citizens by spreading a happiness that has the power to improve even the worst of days.