Smiling at its best.

I spent last night at the library working on a research paper. Not my preferred method to pass a beautiful August evening. I was walking across campus to the library just as dusk set in, thinking about my day and my life: the things that are going great, the things that are going not-so-great, and everything in between.

As I was walking, I noticed a man walking beside me.

He was Hispanic and very short, probably no taller than five feet, wearing a crisp red gingham shirt. He was probably about thirty-five. And he was smiling. He had the most sincere, happy smile I think I've seen in years brightening his entire face.

So I smiled back.

He said in a very heavy accent, "What a nice night it is!"

"Yeah, it really is!" I said. We talked about the weather a bit.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Las Vegas."

"Ohhhh! Nevada!!! Wow!!" he said in strained English, his cute smile getting even bigger.

"Yeah! Where are you from?"

"Peru."

"Wow, that's really cool!" I said, and we talked about Peru for a minute.

"How long have you been here?" my new friend asked as we walked.

"Two years," I answered.

"Ahh! You're twenty?!? How exciting!!" he asked with great energy.

"Yeah!" I said, feeling kind of excited for myself about being twenty. His joy was contagious.

"When is your birthday!??!" he asked, happily as ever.

"February."

"Wow! So SOON! So exciting!!" he said. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his eagerness that my birthday was seven months away. He laughed too.

We kept walking and talking, and he told me that he is at BYU for a few months to learn English, and that he owns an insurance company in Peru. I think he was talking to me to practice his English. I could mostly understand him, but some words were swallowed up in his heavy Peruvian accent, and I couldn't comprehend. He kept the huge grin on his face the whole time we talked. He was a happy man.

He asked about my major and I told him that I'm studying elementary education-- to be a teacher. He said, "Ohhh wow!!! Good luck with the kids!!"

We walked all the way into the library together and when we came to the stairs I said, "It was so nice meeting you! Your English sounds great!"

He said, "Thanks! Your English sounds great too!"

He made me so happy to be twenty, happy to be at BYU, happy to live in America, and happy to be me.

I couldn't stop smiling.