Different types of smiles

Smiles baffle me all the time. There are various smiles and sometimes you just don’t know the appropriate reaction to another’s smile. Here are a few types of smiles that you may have been greeted with at some point of your life.

Smile of greeting

This is a smile that has two meanings. It could mean you know the person but not enough to stop and talk or they look familiar but you can’t match a name with the face. However, it is also a smile that is for strangers, people you don’t know but would love to share your happiness with.

 Usually, this smile is not a wide toothy smile. It’s a slight movement of the lips.

Explosion of happiness

This is the kind of smile that will make anyone’s day. It makes your cheeks hurt but it’s a smile that will make others smile too. However, this explosion of happiness is usually reserved for good friends, although every once in a while, you share it with a stranger you seem to share some secret with.

I know something you don’t

This is a mischievous smile with a tinge of mystery. The smile isn’t flirty, but extremely friendly and goofy. It’s a smile usually followed or preceded by a wink.

Love

This is a private smile; it’s a smile that is special. It marks a secret or bond between two people. It is a smile of love and when you see it, no one but the giver and receiver of that smile exist, and the world becomes one of fairy lights, twinkling stars and love.

Exhausted but smiling

 Sometimes you are tired, you can’t breathe and all you want is a hug. You want to be alone but you also want people to understand, to hold your hand. This smile is small, it is slow, and it is short lived. It’s a cry for help and it’s a way of telling people that things are not okay.

 However, if this smile is accompanied by a slight nod, it means things will get better; that the giver of the smile knows the stars will start shining soon.

Knowing smile

 This is a smile of a secret between two people; a smile of understanding and acceptance, a story that can’t be shared with the world.

 Down memory lane

 This is a smile for old friends and people you haven’t seen in a while. You see them walking towards you and you can’t help the memories flooding in and that uncontrollable smile as what seems like a familiar figure turns into a familiar face, then you recognize them and you can’t believe you are seeing each other after such a long time.

 There is also a smile that makes you feel slightly high and giddy, as if you are flying, when in a place to which you have so many memories attached. It could be the school you spent most of your childhood at or the house you grew up in. That smile, it makes everything infinite.

 Teary smile

 Yes, the tears keep streaming down your face and yet, you can’t help smiling because even though the tears keep burning you cheeks, you can’t help feeling strong. And sometimes these tears aren’t sad tears. You are happy and you are smiling but you can’t help crying. This is a smile that gives you faith to carry on.

 Smiley face :)

This is a smile that could mean many things. It could mean you are hurt but don’t want to seem hurt. It could mean you are not okay with things even though you pretend to be. It’s a smile that could be flirty, honest or innocent. It’s a smile that can be used in so many different ways, and in the cyber world means whatever the kind you want your smile to mean.

We all have our different smiles. We all mean different things when we smile. And we interpret smiles in so many different ways. In the end however, a smile contains some element of happiness, togetherness and love.