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It would have been a bit detrimental to your military stint if your lips naturally curled up and you exuded a natural sunny happy disposition.
I was a combat medic. I was supposed to have a good bedside manner as well as shooting people. Actually, for a while there was a rumour that I was helping myself to my morphine stash, because I was always cheery and I was a little too well versed in pharmacology.
It’s only in the last ten years or so that people have told me my normal expression and countenance is stern and scary. At least until I smile. I find it a little disturbing, since I think of myself as easygoing and approachable. The ‘compliment’ I get most from work colleagues is something like ‘you’re actually a lot nicer than I thought, when I first met you’.