Being mouthy

Ellen DeGeneres has said that people think she’s sad when she relaxes the muscles in her face because her mouth turns downwards and forms a frown. She then corrects others by telling them she’s fine, even though they show concern, thinking she’s not having a good day.

I can understand where she’s coming from.

When I relax the muscles in my face, I have people ask me whether I’m angry. To start, my mouth doesn’t turn up in a smile. Because of my jawline, my lips push outwards and it looks like I’m pouting (which I naturally do, but not on purpose). It also doesn’t help that I grind my teeth unconsciously.

When I do smile, my mouth shows a set of straight teeth, and I have a pair of dimples so deep you want to spackle them.

Unfortunately, I don’t always smile because I’d look like Jack Nicholson, playing the Joker in Batman, and that’s not a look that I aspire to. So for now, I’m going to have to hear people ask me if I’m angry… And, I'm not angry, goddamnit!

I'm sorta happy.