Ms. Tavares smiled at me today. As I was walking past her after picking up my kids from their class, I caught a glimpse of her talking to other parents. She noticed us passing by, looked up, and smiled as if to say hello.
It was the most wonderful thing I’ve seen all day. And her gesture meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to a newcomer who’s new to the area, new to the city and basically new to this country. My children just started going to their school where she teaches, and while she isn’t my kids’ teacher, she has always been so warm and friendly towards us, never hesitating to give my kids a hug.
Today, her smile meant the world to me. She did not know that I was having a bad day and a horrible week. She didn’t know that the night before, I stayed up late crying my eyeballs out because I miss my home, my friends and family. I was even contemplating packing up and bringing my kids back home. I’m going to the beach, I said, to the beautiful paradise-like beaches of home.
Ms. Tavares didn’t know I was having a hard time adjusting to a city where I didn’t have family, where I didn’t know anybody. But she smiled at me. Her smile was so big and bright that it made this dark winter day a lot less gloomy.
I don’t know her story. And honestly, I am too shy to ask.
She gave me hope
Was there ever a point that she was a newcomer, too? Were her parents or grandparents immigrants to this country? I don’t know her story, and she probably doesn’t know mine.
She doesn’t know that we just got here, and the winter is a stark contrast to the weather we are used to. She doesn’t know that we miss our food, our friends, our beaches and our family so badly. But she also doesn’t know how happy she made me feel and how her smile gave me a little glimmer of hope.
Hope that maybe I should give this place more time, that I should give myself another chance. Hope that maybe in a sea of strangers and faces I don’t recognize, there are more out there who, like her, will welcome us. Like her, who will make us feel hopeful. Like her, with hearts so full of love and acceptance that they overflow. Like her, who are willing to share their positivity with a newcomer like me.
So tomorrow I am going to smile, smile at our neighbours, smile at people I don’t know. I am going to walk, no, hop a little and smile at people I see on the road, maybe even wave and say “Hi.”
I am going to smile at the traffic lady helping us cross the streets. I am going to smile at the old man who walks his tiny dog in the morning. I am going to smile at the lady at the grocery counter, and the server at the Pho restaurant. I am going to smile at my kids’ teachers, their classmates, their parents and whoever I come in contact with.
Because if there’s anything I learned from Ms. Tavares today, it’s that your smile can make someone feel a whole lot better. It is so inexpensive, yet has so much impact. It doesn’t cost anything, and only takes a few seconds of your time. Yet, it is so powerful that it can change how other people feel. It can inspire them to be better, to try again and try some more. It can give people the strength to persevere and keep going.
Tomorrow, I am going to look for Ms. Tavares, and I am going to smile back. I want to give her the same hope she has given me today. I want to give her the same positivity and acceptance. In a sea of hurried, frenzied people, in a hustling and bustling city, a smile can change someone’s life.
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