Ladies, I was at the very same place as many of you. I was in my teens and 20s and so worried that I was fat. Or ugly to boys. Unattractive. Undesirable.

It ate me alive.

I tried restrictive diets. Exercise. I became obsessed with exercise for a long time. I took diet pills that are now illegal in the US. Tanning beds. Spent thousands on cosmetics. I’ve had breast surgery and Botox.

Now I am older and I see myself in some of you. The photos with so much self-doubt. I’m telling you, you’ll look back and you won’t see ugliness. You’ll see wasted time.

I can’t exercise anymore. I can hardly move anymore. I have an illness that causes chronic, debilitating pain.

No matter what happens in the future, my hope is that you can all look back on this time in your lives with fondness. That you had so much fun and you didn’t worry about how attractive you are to men.

They’re mostly worried about video games. 😉