Two birds once whispered the below words to me – “when a guy smiles at you, smile back”.

Mmmm..You want to know why I mutter these words? on certain occasions, I see this as being awkward. “Could he be smiling at me? or at someone behind me? OMG! so it really was me. I’m sure he thinks I’m a nerd or a little bit uptight”.

Let’s listen to his thoughts. “O my, here she comes, finally! and this time all alone. I know what I’ll do, I’ll put up a smile, I hope she grabs the hint and smiles back. Oh no! she doesn’t. What could be the matter. Now I can’t tell when another opportunity will approach”. Arghh.. I wonder if to boldly walk up to her and say hello…Mmmm…” he shrugs and quietly trods on.

Now why did I choose to start this way? to explain in detail the thought processes sometimes of certain females against that of the men. Not all ladies respond to the above situation the same way.
Some could smile back; some like the above could decide to check first to avoid any form of embarrassment (because they are unable to see who is walking behind and if the guy in question is smiling at them or past them); some others may not even be staring at the guy’s face and did not see his smile.

I for one, would certainly find this to be awkward. Either my senses would suddenly light up and I would be asking, “have we met before and I have forgotten”? OR I may not have seen the smile. It’s not necessarily a question of being uptight.

You know we all have our different upbringings which is also heightened by our social backgrounds, so to suddenly conclude based on one attempt, that the lady in question is a snob would be wrong. Have you cared to confirm if she is generally reserved in nature or may be an introvert?

I stumbled on a comment which stated that some introverts choose not to talk, not because they do not want to but sometimes their words get mumbled up in their mouth and they find themselves unable to get past using closed ended responses like “Yes” or “No”.
Another comment equally stated that introverts can be overtly chatty when talking with people with whom they are comfortable.

So what’s my point you ask, Go for it if you want it. Walk up to her with a smile and say hello. Why do we base the way we choose to socialize on the current existing trend? I’ve heard so much lately about it being wrong these days to formally ask a lady out. I’ve been told that in the dating scene these days, guys don’t initiate the conversation no more. Rather, the two individuals suddenly find themselves in a relationship. This causes me to wonder, what exactly is the missing link? Only to be told that if he smiles, you smile back. Thus, if he winks, you can also smile back. Note his gestures.

At the end, simply because everyone is trying to play by the new rules of the book, it’s no more a win-win situation, but a win some, you lose some. No wonder, many times most relationships don’t stand the test of time.

You want to know what I think? my take is to be yourself. Be uniquely you; this would be the eventual avenue to draw your soul mate close.