What do you do at age 13 yrs old when you feel ugly because you have a really big nose and a reddened face in photographs?

If teenagers only knew that almost all teenagers feel "ugly" and don't feel confident. I recently talked to the most popular kid in my class from grade school to high school, back in (well, we'll skip mentioning the year). The girl wore THE most fashionable, popular brand new clothes, shoes, boots, coats, purses, etc. She hung out with all the other "rich girls". We thought she had everything: beauty, looks, clothes, makeup, boys... But despite her beauty and possessions, she told me she'd been really unhappy the whole time. She thought she was ugly and hated herself. Her home life wasn't great either, but she never mentioned it in school. Her mom was a drinker; her dad deserted the family. Her mom's family had money-- but the girl felt lonely, and felt trapped when at home.

For every teen worried whether their noses are too big, the rest of the class worries about having crooked teeth, pimples, childhood scars, etc.

For every girl who hates the shape of her eyes are boys who hate the shape of their jawline.

For every boy who thinks he has too big of ears, others think they are too short or too fat all over their bodies.

For every boy worried about the size or length of his penis, there are an equal number of girls convinced their breasts are too small / too big, and both sexes worry their bodies aren't developing fast enough.

I wish I could convince you that in a few years, it won't bother you as much as it is now. I wish you could believe me that by the time you graduate from HS that it won't matter whether your nose is too big, your smile isn't as bright as someone else's teeth, or whether your feet look too big. You will grow into accepting yourself just as you are--which is good.

One day you'll look in the mirror and say, "Hey, I'm really kinda pretty!" You'll like your skin, your hair, your features, etc. much more than you like yourself at age 12-15. You'll feel more confident. And you'll know, everyone feels insecure. We all have bad days... and eventually, many more days when your looks just aren't as important! You are you. You are unique.

And... many of us cringe at our pictures. Red blotches, that huge pimple (well, it looked huge on my face!), yucky smile, no dimples, bad hair... we've all picked ourselves apart endlessly, whether in the mirror or seeing ourselves in pics. If you want to have a laugh, check out some HS photos from the 1980s-- now that was ugly hair!

Relax hon... you're okay just how you are!