So, you woke up this morning with a huge zit right in the middle of your forehead. You cut your bangs to try and hide it and put enough concealer on it to clog the rest of the pores on your body. Then, because the concealer looked so unnatural, you had to go extra heavy on all of your other make-up. Finally, 20 minutes later, you just look like a clown with a huge zit on her face. You pull out that brown paper grocery bag, cut holes for eyes and a mouth, and walk out the door.

Don’t feel bad, we all do it. If a zit wasn’t what ruined your morning, it was something else. Maybe your hair is doing weird things or you feel bloated and fat. Maybe your eyes are too close together and your ears look like Dumbo’s. Whatever. It still ruined your morning and caused you to be self-conscious throughout your day.

I say this a lot. I know I do. Every Thursday I sign off telling America to be GORGEOUS. It’s that important, not so much to be physically gorgeous but to feel gorgeous when the outside forces are working against you.

I have subscribed to Marie Claire for about five years now and my favorite section has alway been “What I Love About Me”. Every month, ten women from somewhere in America are photographed with a caption saying what they love about themselves. These are regular women, not models. Some of them have braces, or wrinkles, or grey hair, but they are all beautiful because they love themselves.

This particular month, there was a woman with cancer who really inspired me. She had lost all of her hair and I’m sure it was a very traumatic experience, but she said, “When you’re bald and have cancer, you’re not hiding. It turns out I have a good head. Who knew?”

So, stop fighting with that zit, grab some sunglasses and a hat, make a list titled “What I Love About Me”, and go about your day in confidence!