Hugs and Kisses, I think

The fact that the last time I drew a smiley face in a handwritten letter was in 8th grade makes me wonder why I currently use a colon, hyphen and paranthesis to depict one in a text. But, I embarrassingly admit that I'm guilty. :-)

As for stickers, the only ones I remember were on my Barbie camper. I probably grew up stickerless because my parents feared decoupaged furniture. Or perhaps, like tattoos, I feared their permanence. Which one to stick where, why and when was overwhelming for an indecisive girl like me. They were better left unstuck. Needless to say, my childhood lacked rainbows, unicorns and hearts.

Maybe this unadorned adolescence explains my emotional aversion to emojis. I'm inept. The few times I've tried, it seemed more difficult to find a sticker that spoke a thousand words than just using the words. But apparently that's just me. The real sticker-loving kids from the seventies (and 60s, 80s and 90s) are still trying to wordlessly express themselves without weighing the risks of misinterpretation.

I first realized I couldn't read emojis when I thanked a student for his applause. What's the blushing smiley with tiny hands under its chin doing if not applauding? I picture a little girl lightly clapping by her face and whispering, "Yay!" When I asked the sender why I'd deserved the cheer, he was perplexed. His interpretation of the faccina (small face) was 'easy affection.' Nothing like enhancing the enigma with some elementary English. (The truth is, I actually googled 'easy affection' in case it was trendy jargon the English teacher lacked.)  

I decided to make things easier by downloading a page of emoji meanings. I discovered that those tiny little hands represent a hug. Apparently virtual hugs are armless (and harmless). Just as harmless as the rosy-cheeked face blowing a heart that I've received from a number of people who would never consider blowing me a real kiss. As full of hugs and kisses as Italy is, my students sadly seldom cross that line. So I accept the emojis in texts with an LOL, imagining (and hoping for) the live delivery some day.
 
I'm currently working on a collection of photos that I call eMYjis. It includes faces on statues, cloud formations and everyday objects that evoke emotions in me. Unlike Google's emoji users, I'm afraid to 'face' the risk of misintrepation, so the photos won't be in use until I've also published an eMYjis dictionary. In the meantime, I'm happy to keep sending easy-to-read punctuation marks and receiving faint-hearted affection, with a smile.