WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU "FAKE IT"

When I was a Junior back in HS. This was for our Book Interpretation Contest.   Photo taken and edited by Kenneth Sepagan

           A smile can never express true emotion.

          Whenever we see a person smiling, we can guess that he or she is happy. Or if we hear someone shout, we immediately conclude that the person is angry. But is it what they really feel? Many people are very good at hiding emotions. They're so good at hiding it that they can feel when others are just "faking" theirs.

          That makes me wonder, why do we love to "fake it" and hide our real emotions? Is it for us to test who can really understand us deep within? Is it because we're to scared and/or embarrassed to show it to anyone (and might think of us as overacting)? Is it because we don't want to influence or persuade others with our emotions?

          But how come those people, who can feel what others feel, are quiet? I mean, how come they don't talk to these people and ask them what's really going on in their lives? To be honest, I am one of those people who can easily hide emotions and can sense others. Only a few people know me very much. I'm the guy in class who wants to befriend everyone. I may be shy at first, but once I get comfortable with someone, I can chat all day with them as long as the topics are very interesting and/or very timely.

          For me, I don't tell others what's really going on with their lives because I just don't know what to say. I don't want to dictate what they should choose, because the biggest thing that I can do is either push/force them or support them. Each and every one of us is different and we can talk to whom we want. Not everyone is strong in keeping something. Not everyone can keep a secret, even a single tear can change many, many things. I remember a famous line that says: "Lahat ng sikreto ay nabubunyag. Hindi lang ngayon, pero sa takdang panahon ay lalabas rin ito." (All secrets are revealed. Maybe not now, but in the right time, it will be.)

          Many of us might wonder on what would happen if we hide our true emotions? Well, that's simple. For instance, if we have a problem about the lesson that our teacher is discussing and we don't tell them, we might not fully comprehend nor would we understand the lesson. Another example is that if we lack a few coins for our transportation fee and we don't tell anyone, we might not get to our place of destination, or worse, we might walk all the way home, which would be a problem if you live far away.

          A good example is about love. Even though using love as an example is very overrated, I will still continue. If you have a crush on someone for maybe a year or two already, and yet you're hurting yourself because you might fear that your friendship with him or her might die, would you take the risk? If you just keep your feelings, you might over think and you will just carry more burden. But if you take the risk, you might either get the person, or you won't.

          But who knows, right? Taking risks may be a part of life, but remember that taking risks is different from stupidity and selfishness. Remember that it's not bad to be an open book, but don't let your life be very open like your wall on Facebook. We have emotions to express ourselves. We may not be "easy-to-read" when it comes to our facial expressions but gestures, body language, even how we look, is based on what we want to tell others and because of this, people can still see us. The reason why I can tell and predict emotions clearly, other than my reasons above, is because I don't look just on the face, but I include the way he or she talks, the movements, the eye contact and the flow of their speech.

          Our emotions can either be the key or the barrier in our communication. So, how about you? Will you still "fake it" or will you break it and try to express what you want to express, what you want to say, what you want to feel, and what you want others to know about what you're feeling right now? True emotion is never in the mind, but in the heart, but it is up to us on what would we listen to. Will you still hide your 'scars' with your "I'm fine" line?

          Nicholas Sparks said in his book, At First Sight, that "the emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it..." An anonymous writer said that "if you can't understand my silence, how can you understand my words?" So take time and observe. Observe them and ask yourself: "Would I really fake it? Or would I be honest?"

          A smile can never express true emotion.

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