Hey you! Yeah you!

Stop being so hard on yourself.

My friend (no really this is about an actual friend), is being all mopey mouth lately. There is a lot going on in her life so it's totally understandable. And we were talking about the things we can control vs. the things we cannot. 

She lamented to me that she was looking at my recent family photos and was feeling bad about herself. She felt she wasn't doing enough to make herself look better. 

When I protested and said 'but you should see me right now' she countered with other examples of when she thought I looked good. And while I will not argue that I looked pretty damn hot ;) my official response is below. The photo in the middle is what I look like, right now, at 2:50pm on Dec 20, 2011.

This is me every day vs. me with make up, hair and two separate occasions with good lighting and someone that knows how to use a camera.

Homegirl is lookin' rough. But even though I'm not runway ready (HA! as if!) I don't feel ugly or even blah. My hair is soft and shiny, I have cute freckles and for being almost 35, my skin is not as wrinkly as I anticipated it being at this age. Woot! There are a lot of things that other people will probably see in that photo that classify as fug. And I see them too - but I don't care about them.

So my point is: don't compare yourself to others. On the internet you only get to see what we want you to see. There are more smoke and mirrors online than in a Vegas magic show.

So this is me, bad lighting, under eye bags, and all, telling you that you're gorgeous.

And that goes for you too.

Self deprecation can be fun and endearing but please don't take yourself too seriously. And don't let anyone else make you believe that you are anything less than fabulous.

Appreciate your uniqueness.

"Because there had never been anyone like you ever in the world my friend. And there never will be, not ever again."