Fun & Famous
THE MISERY OF HAVING A ‘RESTING BITCH FACE’
Can I take you back to this morning? I'm walking the last bit from the metro to the office. ‘Can't stop the feeling’ by Justin T. is blasting oh so nicely in my ears; IN LOVE with Justin + that song. Then a car drives by. The window goes down. I take out my earbuds, because undoubtedly this man is going to ask me for directions. “Hey cheerful one, keep smiling, okay?”, he shouts.
The window goes back up.
In a split second, I want to scream that I am THRILLEDLY cheerful. WAS yes, after his sour remark. Nope, the life of someone with a resting bitch face (RBF) is not all roses. Familiar with it? You have an RBF when your neutral facial expression is rather malicious or arrogant. Think thunderstorm mode. Read here maar even.
1. Kids run away from you
No matter how much you like them, kids just don’t like you. They find you scary and that’s actually not so weird. If you were a little turd of four and you saw a giant version of myself with a semi-forced clown smile walking towards you, would you be scared? Well then.
2. You almost start a fight while going out
The same situation as the window open/window closed story above. So there you are, happily dancing with a gin and tonic in your hand, and in half an hour, three men come up to you. Not to offer you a new drink, no, just to ask if you’re doing okay. If you’re having fun. And spontaneously you feel like giving him a few pumps right in front of his face. With kind regards from the RBF.
“Also painful: people have to explain that something was a joke”
3. Meeting your in-laws for the first time = sore jaws
Because it really can’t happen that you come across as the grumpiest daughter-in-law ever. Then just poker face it. Keep. Smiling. At. Every. Joke.
4. People don’t always get your sarcasm
Because when you, aka Mrs. Blair Waldorf, put on a smile, there must be something behind it, right? Also painful: people have to explain that something was a joke.
5. Making new friends? Forget about it
If you ask all your girlfriends what they thought when they saw you for the very first time, you will be utterly unhappy. Everyone thinks you were a nasty piece of work. And quite arrogant. And eventually, everyone (okay, almost everyone) comes back to that. Because you’re actually quite sweet. Really.
