If you know my mom, you know how a smile can affect someone's life. Everyone who meets me after meeting my mom tells me how wonderful of a smile my mom has and how she is truly a mom and a best friend to everyone. She always knows what advice to give, how to make you laugh, when to make a sarcastic comment, and she can bring a positive outlook to each and every event life throws your way. So basically my mom is Blake Lively, the most precious and contagiously gleaming actress.

Smiles are lovable, humored, happy upturns of the cheekbones and crinkles of the eyes that draw from shared memories like a family vacation, senior spring break, the time you awkwardly introduced yourself to your college roommate (whoopsie daisy, I may have accidentally "slept" through my alarm so I didn't have to awkwardly say good morning).

All those cliche phrases like "don't worry be happy" and "turn that frown upside down" speak the truth. Although they may make you feel as if you are walking on rainbows with sunshine and lollipops, it's worth it.

Don't get me wrong, everyone has those days where they feel claustrophobic and down, especially after a long day in the enchanting bitter cold and humid air in Ann Arbor, and they just wanna cuddle in a fuzzy blanket with hot chocolate.

But what is even better than hot chocolate is a smile. When the equation goes from negative x squared to positive x squared, it hits your whole body. Your nerves become intact and your body radiates energy left and right.

It's a new year and you have 365 days to smile more and create a crinkle of the eyes epidemic for more experiences, more relationships, and more stories. So this year, I dare you to become the Blake Lively of your community.