smile
by
Esther Chung
WRIT 1133: Writing & Research | Professor David Riche
“I WONDER WHAT THEY ARE THINKING?” Almost everyone has had this thought run through their head. I am no different. Wanting to understand what the other person is thinking or feeling—it’s truly impossible to tell. I remember my teacher in elementary school looking down on me, the corner of her mouth turned downwards, her eyebrows turned upwards, as I extended my hand out to her, a little lizard in my palm. At the time, I did not understand why she was slowly inching away from me while trying to get me to drop the lizard. I did not understand why her face was contorted in such a weird manner. I did not understand that emotion.i The corners of their lips turned up, their eyes shifting a little bit, revealing an almost moon-like shape; there are no wrinkles in the corners of their eyes. Their pupils were not contracted, nor were they shaped like the moon. No reflection glinting off them; they almost looked like dark stones. The human face has forty-three muscles. Forty-three muscles to make seven emotions, yet there are thousands of combinations to convey them. The seven universal emotionsii are classified as disgust, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise, and contempt.iii Despite this, the English language has many different ways to describe emotions. Happiness can be described as cheerful, merry, joyful, VOLUME 9
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