Brandon Flowers would likely argue that his good looks are more than enough to make people smile. Yet we all know that it takes more than that; it takes a little bit of charm, good intentions, style—a knack for making others feel comfortable. It just happens to be that Brandon has those characteristics as well and more.

“Honestly, a smile can be very unimportant if it is not genuine, but when you make someone feel that warmth portrayed by a smile, it can make you happy,” Brandon said.

If you smile enough, it will feel more natural and show more often. On the other hand, making people smile has become natural to Brandon. His carefree humor can bring joy to almost any situation, making others wonder what fuels it.

That is where the reason behind his smiles lies:

“I know that my Lord and Savior loves me as much as anyone else on this earth no matter what I do,” Brandon said. “And the Rockets have Jeremy Lin.”

Last December, however, Jeremy Lin was not strong enough to keep smiles from disappearing. It was then that Cinco lost Chris Saiz, a beloved friend and classmate. It was unbearable for anyone to smile right after hearing the news of Chris’ death. It was challenging to even think of anything optimistic in the midst of such pain. But as impossible as it seemed then, smiles eventually returned. His death was beyond unexpected, but the effect it had on the community was just as unpredictable.

“At that time no one, including myself, was smiling. But when such a large number of people band together like never before is so impactful. You have to force yourself to think about the good times with that person and the reasons to smile about when thinking of that person,” Brandon said.

Often times, we can take those around us for granted. Little do we notice how much they impact us. But when they’re gone, so are our smiles.

On the bright side, I don’t think smiles ever leave with no return. I think they disappear for some time only so we can see how much of a difference they can make.

“I try to remind myself that there is good in the world by surrounding myself with positive people,” Brandon said. “Also, when anything goes wrong I just look down into the beautiful brown eyes of my dog and see that nothing can corrupt her. There is hope.”