Better to Smile

When I was in High School, I was pretty insecure. I'm sure this surprises some people, but it's the truth. I wouldn't even compliment people, because I was afraid that it would make me inferior to them. I would think they would have something on me, or think they were better than me. I didn't want to fuel their fire, when mine was dwindling.
My senior year, I decided to throw that mentality in the trash. My mom always told me to smile, because it will make people wonder what you're up to. I always rolled my eyes, thinking that she just didn't understand high school. But, I decided to give it a try. I smiled - at everyone! Walking down the hall, instead of looking at the floor and avoiding people, I smiled! If I made eye contact with people in class or at lunch, I smiled! It worked, people smiled back! But, I still had people not smile back. To this day, I'm still surprised that people don't smile back.  I still try to keep up this mentality, I try to smile when I see people at the grocery store, at church, at the car wash, wherever. If you run into me and I don't smile at you, it's not intentional.
I feel like smiling at people gives them the benefit of the doubt. I also believe in compliments! I have found that giving people compliments even makes me feel better! I wholeheartedly believe in compliments! I used to not take compliments well, because I thought if I said, "thank you", then it was considered stuck up, or rude. I'm going to blame Regina George on Mean Girls for that one ;)
As a girl, I really struggled. As a woman, I still struggle, but I believe in lifting each other up. I'm tired of being in a society that tears each other down because of their religious, political, parenting, marriage, living differences. It's getting real old.
I think that social media is scary, it's so easy to tear each other down because it looks like others have more than you. Maybe they do, but that's okay. I'm loving following people who inspire, uplift and love each other. That's what I want my blog and my Instagram feed to portray. Honest, genuine, real, love.
I hope that that is what you get from Beautiful Effort. I hope that you are the one that smiles, not the one that doesn't smile back. I hope that you uplift one another and understand that everyone is fighting a battle, so give someone the benefit of the doubt. I think this is a lifelong struggle, you can't always be perfect in the endeavor, but we sure can try.
Have a beautiful week, my friends!
#womenwhoinspirewednesday
#beautifuleffort