All my life I’ve heard one question more times than I care to admit, “Hey, are you okay?” When I say I’m fine it’s always the same response, “You don’t look okay.” There’s a very simple reason as to why I don’t look okay, and it’s called genetics. I actually inherited this stern looking face from my mother. Hard to believe, isn’t it? But just because my eyes are usually half closed, and my voice sounds like a dead robot, doesn’t mean I’m a miserable teenager. It’s just how I am. It also doesn’t mean I’m allergic to joy, I’m actually pretty happy most days. My smile just isn’t as big or natural as your average girl down the street.

Even after many explanations, people don’t seem to quite understand. If people don’t see me as emotionless, they see me as psychotic. There was one girl in my Spanish class of freshman year I remember who said that I looked like I was going to kill her, and many other students like to joke about who I murdered over the weekend. Sick, right? I’m not some emotionless serial killer, not even close, I’m a completely normal high school girl that just looks a little different. Don’t blame me or my personality, blame science if you have a problem with it.