I, like so many females I’ve talked to, need no outside critic to point out my flaws.  They’re blaring back at me every time I see my reflection.  Not even makeup or carefully chosen outfits can conceal all the things I don’t like about myself, though those things seem to help how others view me.  At least, I guess they do since nobody runs away screaming when they see me coming down the street.  Yes, sometimes I really think I look that bad.

Some days, I can overcome the daily battle-in-the-mirror with a good mental reprimand about how shallow I’m being.  “Janelle, it’s what’s inside that counts.”  Other days even that won’t work.  “I’ve done all I can with my insides, I want the matching Cindy Crawford outside I think they’ve become.”  And waa-laa!  Nope, it doesn’t magically happen.  You and I both know it never will.  I buck-up, put a little color on my lips, and put my reflection behind me.

As teenagers, there are so many choices ahead in your life, education, marriage, kids.  Don’t waste brain power stewing over something that short of plastic surgery can’t be fixed.  We females have enough to worry about already.