I thought Corey Vernot story "The Gift of a Smile" extremely moving. It showed me that a parent puts all their sweat and tears into raising their children, but sometimes children go astray. They get older make new friends and make them their first priority. In this case it was the parent that went astray. The father in this story feels the guilt he feels about him letting down his daughter. Even though she did not know he was her father she looked down on him because of him raggedy clothes, him having no money, and the dirt that was covering every aspect of his body. The father knew he had not only messed up his life, but he had interfered with his daughters happiness. However, the one thing he gave his daughter was he beautiful smile. Life may not go as planed, but whatever mistakes a person has made in the past should not ruin the rest of your life.