The other day, I watched a few videos from a vlogger who’s on a mission: he’s posting one video every day for a year, documenting his journey. I’ve watched about three or four of his videos so far, and honestly, I enjoyed them. He seems like a good guy, and it’s fun to see someone commit to something so consistent.
But there was one thing he said that caught my attention and not in a good way.
In one of his videos, he got upset that people weren’t smiling at him or being overly friendly.
He suggested it might be because he’s from England.
To me, it sounded a little strange.
Maybe even a bit entitled.
If I think back to 10 years ago, maybe I would have felt the same way.
Traveling to a new country, not knowing anyone, hoping people would smile back or be friendly - and feeling disappointed when they didn’t.
But today, my view is a little different.
People are going through so much in their lives.
Family struggles.... Financial pressure.. Just trying to get through the day.....
Not everyone is in the mood to smile at a stranger.
And that’s okay.
I’ve never been to India myself, but with such a massive population and complex economic realities, it’s not surprising that people might seem reserved or distant sometimes.
It’s not personal.
It’s just life.
Maybe it’s social awkwardness.
Maybe they don't know how to react when they see a foreigner in a place where tourists are rare.
Maybe smiling at strangers simply isn't part of the daily norm.
Whatever it is, it doesn’t make them bad people.
And it doesn't mean they’re being unfriendly on purpose.
As adults, I think we need to remember:
It’s okay if people don’t smile back.
It’s okay if not everyone welcomes you with open arms.
We move on.
It’s no big deal.
If no one smiles back at you today it's okay.
Smile anyway.