Haha, I was thinking back to a conversation my mom had with my auntie.
My aunt was complaining that she didn't like to go for walks with her hubby because people always looked at her in a stuck-up way.
Also, they NEVER smiled at her.
But they smile at her husband la!
At this point, he butted in and said:
"You never smile at them, why should they smile at you?"
"They also never smile at me!"
Ah, it's a paradox.
If people don't smile at you, you don't smile back at them for no apparent reason lest they think you a freak - it's just not done.
Alas, if you don't smile at them, they won't smile at you, and you won't smile at them, and they won't smile at you...and it goes on forever! o_O
Quite silly, I think.
So today, I decided to test out people's reactions when you actually make eye contact and smile at them.
I normally have a black face in public, as people like to tell me.
- -''
...I just don't like to smile for no reason, ok?
(Plus 6 years of braces did NOT help my self-esteem at all)
However, today I decided to change all that be-cold-if-you-don't-know-them thing.
Let's smile at strangers! =D
The idea popped up quite spontaneously, so I was actually sitting in a shoeshop glowering at passersby (I was bored from shoe shopping, please excuse me =/) when this normal-looking (read: non-ah lian) girl caught my eye.
She looked in my direction, and I looked up and caught her eye.
She looked at me and was about to turn her head away when I curled up one side of my lip up a little - just a tiny bit, a tentative smile.
She looked away.
And she turned and met my eyes again.
I curled the other side of the lip up --------> =)
She looked away.
Then she looked back...and smiled!
SUCCESS!
Ahahaha!
Feeling encouraged, I tried again, this time while walking - I had to make it fast.
No time for double-takes or backward glances.
Spotting a relatively normal looking guy, (eh, hard to find non-ah-bengs in Sungei Wang leh...)
I caught his eye and smiled.
His eyes widen surprisedly...and he returned the smile.
SUCCESS!
Feeling even better, I immediately turned to find my next victim - a salesguy in a CD shop.
I raised my eyebrows in preparation for a smile - and he grinned at me!
Hah!
SUCCESS!
I tried my luck again - this time picking a typical Ah Lian.
Who knows? Maybe they're really friendly under that 2 inches of foundation and eyeliner...
So I smiled at this girl with straightened hair, giant striped tee, purple jumpsuit and hotpants.
(Maybe we could be friends? =D)
...and she glared at me with a WTF face - like I was a total nutcase.
...
-.-''
And I stopped smiling at strangers after that.
(Luckily Yap didn't know what I was doing then, else she'd ROFL at me = =)
From today's findings, I conclude that:
-Smiling at strangers has an approximate 75% success rate of getting a smile in return.
-People are friendlier than they seem.
-And some people are just as unfriendly as they seem. (Lol, I'm just biased, sorry! XD)
See? Smiling at strangers isn't that scary...
-If they return your smile, it really makes your day.
-If they don't - they might just be shy and you might have just made THEIR day a little brighter.
-If they don't, and hate you for smiling at them - they have issues and you're probably never going to see them again anyway. =/
So break the vicious circle of frigid, cold stares...and smile at a stranger today! ^^
Song of the Day:
"More Than Words - Extreme"
I HAVE to get this song right!
(Don't ask why I'm so cheerful today - I don't know either)
My aunt was complaining that she didn't like to go for walks with her hubby because people always looked at her in a stuck-up way.
Also, they NEVER smiled at her.
But they smile at her husband la!
At this point, he butted in and said:
"You never smile at them, why should they smile at you?"
"They also never smile at me!"
Ah, it's a paradox.
If people don't smile at you, you don't smile back at them for no apparent reason lest they think you a freak - it's just not done.
Alas, if you don't smile at them, they won't smile at you, and you won't smile at them, and they won't smile at you...and it goes on forever! o_O
Quite silly, I think.
So today, I decided to test out people's reactions when you actually make eye contact and smile at them.
I normally have a black face in public, as people like to tell me.
- -''
...I just don't like to smile for no reason, ok?
(Plus 6 years of braces did NOT help my self-esteem at all)
However, today I decided to change all that be-cold-if-you-don't-know-them thing.
Let's smile at strangers! =D
The idea popped up quite spontaneously, so I was actually sitting in a shoeshop glowering at passersby (I was bored from shoe shopping, please excuse me =/) when this normal-looking (read: non-ah lian) girl caught my eye.
She looked in my direction, and I looked up and caught her eye.
First victim!
She looked at me and was about to turn her head away when I curled up one side of my lip up a little - just a tiny bit, a tentative smile.
She looked away.
And she turned and met my eyes again.
I curled the other side of the lip up --------> =)
She looked away.
Then she looked back...and smiled!
SUCCESS!
Ahahaha!
Feeling encouraged, I tried again, this time while walking - I had to make it fast.
No time for double-takes or backward glances.
Spotting a relatively normal looking guy, (eh, hard to find non-ah-bengs in Sungei Wang leh...)
I caught his eye and smiled.
His eyes widen surprisedly...and he returned the smile.
SUCCESS!
Feeling even better, I immediately turned to find my next victim - a salesguy in a CD shop.
I raised my eyebrows in preparation for a smile - and he grinned at me!
Hah!
SUCCESS!
I tried my luck again - this time picking a typical Ah Lian.
Who knows? Maybe they're really friendly under that 2 inches of foundation and eyeliner...
So I smiled at this girl with straightened hair, giant striped tee, purple jumpsuit and hotpants.
(Maybe we could be friends? =D)
...and she glared at me with a WTF face - like I was a total nutcase.
...
-.-''
And I stopped smiling at strangers after that.
(Luckily Yap didn't know what I was doing then, else she'd ROFL at me = =)
From today's findings, I conclude that:
-Smiling at strangers has an approximate 75% success rate of getting a smile in return.
-People are friendlier than they seem.
-And some people are just as unfriendly as they seem. (Lol, I'm just biased, sorry! XD)
See? Smiling at strangers isn't that scary...
-If they return your smile, it really makes your day.
-If they don't - they might just be shy and you might have just made THEIR day a little brighter.
-If they don't, and hate you for smiling at them - they have issues and you're probably never going to see them again anyway. =/
So break the vicious circle of frigid, cold stares...and smile at a stranger today! ^^
Song of the Day:
"More Than Words - Extreme"
I HAVE to get this song right!
(Don't ask why I'm so cheerful today - I don't know either)
4 comments:
Hahaha interesting experiment. LOL at the ah lian one!
haha i tried this in sec sch and most ppl just gave me quizzical looks. but fun though! (:
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!
no wonder you looked so happy-ish.
i thought you makan wrong ubat..
i noticed ok!!!!!
WTF FACE: =_o
Ah lians thoughts: never see pretty girl before ahhh?
I wonder what she would do if I smiled at her and winked... hmmm...experiment time
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