Smiling - A Study of Why We Smile

Why do we smile? It is a question many have not thought of, yet a question that everyone should consider. We smile practically everyday, after all. There are mainly two different types of smiles. The 'voluntary' and the 'involuntary'.
The voluntary type is like when you smile merely to be polite. For example, when your aunt gives you a pair of woolen socks for Christmas (just and example). Normally, it would be alright but FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Since I live in Singapore, a pair of woolen socks are near useless. And giving someone socks for Christmas is just plain cheep. In this kind of situation, one would smile to be polite so as to not insult your aunt (thought she might deserve it) and embarrass your family by being rude. This type of smiling is very commonly used in our lives as most of us are hard pressed to find anything else to do when faced with this type of situation (and it happens really often in our lives). This type of smiles are usually insincere.
The second type of smiling, the involuntary, is the real kind of smiles. It is the kind of smile that lights up the whole world. This type of smile occurs when you do not consciously smile, hence the term 'involuntary'. An example of when you use this type of smile is when someone says something funny and you smile unconsciously or, when it is really funny, laugh. Here's a joke: How do you make a hot dog stand? Take away its chair :) If you DID find that funny, you would have laughed, or at the very least smile. This type of smile is also very common, maybe even more than the first type.
In conclusion, the two main reasons we smile are:

• To be polite - voluntary


• To express our joy or happiness - involuntary

Thanks for reading!