Member-only story
Where Did That Smile Go?
“Are you all right? Where is your beaming smile? Where is your laugh? Are you tired?”
I heard these questions more times than I can count, from friends, family, even strangers.
Each time, I forced a smile that felt foreign on my face, muttering reassurances I didn’t believe.
Deep inside, I wondered the same thing: where had my smile gone? When had it slipped away, unnoticed, like sand through my fingers?
It wasn’t always like this.
There was a time when my laugh echoed through hallways, a time when my smile was a permanent fixture on my face.
I used to be the girl who lit up every room she walked into, whose happiness was contagious.
But now, that girl felt like a distant memory, a story I told myself about someone else.
It started gradually, the fading of my joy.
At first, I chalked it up to stress — school was demanding, my part-time job was exhausting, and I barely had time for myself.
But stress turned into anxiety, and anxiety became a constant companion.
I began to feel like I was drowning, every day a struggle to keep my head above water.
