A couple weeks ago, I went to go see the long-awaited movie “Edge of Seventeen.” From the trailers, I expected this to be a sarcastic, dark-humored movie about the perils of high school. What I got instead was a theme I’ve heard all my life: people will like you more if you just smile. Now, although there were several other underlying themes about family bonding and understanding others, this previously mentioned proclamation of exuberant sunshine really just got under my skin. As someone who truly related to the bitter, dramatic main character, I felt defensive about the film’s message. I’m never going to be a genuinely positive person, and that’s OK with me.

Sure, negativity can be annoying, but pessimism is often necessary for success. Those who always expect the best-case scenario end up unprepared when things go wrong, while the so-called “Debbie Downers” already have a plan. As long as you remain mentally healthy, having a sarcastic or negative personality can be an integral part of teamwork.

In addition, the assumption that people will like me more if I smile is preposterous. Smiling doesn’t even represent someone’s happiness, and forcing a sarcastic person to smile when they don’t want to is like to forcing clothes on dogs: it doesn’t work. Also, I believe that changing my personality to fit someone else’s expectations is fundamentally stupid, and I refuse to take part in it. I genuinely don’t care if my sarcasm is off-putting; it’s who I am. If someone doesn’t accept my dry humor and lack of enthusiasm, that’s their loss. I happen to love my obnoxious commentary, and my true friends appreciate it as well.

If I’ve learned anything from high school (or just social studies teacher Jeff Strickland’s class), it’s that sarcasm, while not necessarily popular, isn’t something to feel ashamed of. It’s a part of life that not everyone can be happy go-lucky. In fact, it makes us human.