"I think you have a beautiful smile"

"For years, she closed her mouth when she had her picture taken, to hide the gap in her front teeth. (She'd asked for braces, but her mother wouldn't hear of it. 'She was, like, "Don't you know that in Nigeria a gap is a sign of beauty and intelligence?"') In high school, a yearbook photographer told her to smile more, and something clicked. 'He said, "I think you have a beautiful smile." My mom had said it my whole life, but, for some reason, when he said it it rang in my ear differently. Now I smile all the time, even on red carpets, when you're supposed to look fierce.'"

From an interview with Uzo Aduba, "Crazy Eyes" from Orange is the New Black. 


One small positive comment--something you might not even remember saying--can change a person forever.