I was also very happy to wear a mask all winter because it helps keep your face a bit warmer than it would be otherwise! It's kind of like wearing a scarf covering your face, but less uncomfortable. It was also good for preventing disease of course, especially if you live and work in a crowded place like me. I actually decided to wear two! One fabric and one of the blue masks, they fit very snugly over my face.
I hope that I can find some neat patterns to make a thinner mask with! I don't really have any at the moment, but I guess now that I'm on vacation it shouldn't be too hard to do some very simple embroidery myself.
Teaching in a mask will be strange, though. To deal with that, and to reduce traffic on campus, I'm going to do at least one remote lecture per week (out of three), and the rest more problem-solving or discussion oriented rather than lecturing. I think standing in front of the class trying to lecture through a mask for 50 minutes will be exhausting! Means I have to spend some time over the summer making short videos and organizing some readings, but it'll be worth it to reduce the time spent trying to communicate through a piece of fabric.
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I've never had a stranger tell me to smile, that I remember. What a strange thing to tell someone! My older sister once commanded me to laugh during a movie, but... well, older sister. Enough said. 
Yeah, one of the troubles with wearing a mask is that it's hard to tell when people are talking, and to whom. I hope you're ready to speak rather loudly! Your voice does get somewhat muffled if you wear too thick a mask. But aside from that, the usual cues for someone talking to you (lips moving, sound, eye contact) are now much harder to detect.
I'm excited to go back to in-school learning at least once a week or so. It feels like I'm finally becoming a real university student? But here's a cursed thought, I actually liked online learning better because I didn't have to figure out how to act, how to sit, how to talk, etc etc in a "professional" setting. If I wear a cute mask next year, at least then I can keep the awkward business smiles out of the way. Most of my friends are absolutely done with online learning, though! They want no more of it.
As for being told to smile, I have heard that people who look like girls/more feminine are often told to do that, though I never tried to look presentable so I guess I managed to avoid that. Social expectations or whatever
Tarnagh, I'm not sure what you present as IRL so sorry if I'm assuming too much. (Edit: also as thorny said)
(I also have an older sister, I kind of miss the intense bitterness and hatred we held for each other in our childhood
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