Maybe it’s part of humanity. Maybe it’s a screwed up part of a female’s brain. Maybe it’s our society. Maybe it’s our instinct. Whatever is it, it’s so easy to do. Somehow we always have a hard time accepting ourselves for who we are. It’s so easy to come up with a thousand things that we hate about ourselves than to come up with ten things that we love. Why IS that?!

In commemoration of a self-proclaimed “Acceptance Month,” here is a list of ten things that I like about myself. [note to readers: this list was started on September 14th… why has it taken me 2 months to come up with 10 things?!]

1) Natural highlights. I never knew it before, but I recently became aware that in my bangs, there are at least three different shades of brown and gold. It’s not noticeable unless the sun is shining directly on it (or if I’m in a restroom with bright lights by the sink), but it makes a nice little shimmer sometimes like it’s begging someone to take note. So I am.

2) The tiny mole above my left eyebrow. It’s been there for as long as I can remember, but I like it. I think it adds something unique to my face. I also like the itty, bitty one on the left side, above my lip. Also, (something that I’m not as fond of, but constantly makes me feel like an endless expanse of space) I have a constalation located on the right side of my face. Who knew that funny little fact? Because of my right cheek, I learned about the Big Dipper. No, it’s true! From my right cheek up to my hairline, the big dipper is displayed via freckles on my skin. I can’t say that I love it, but now that I think about it, it IS rather interesting. Not just anyone can say that about their freckles! I also have a perfect large rectangle on my left upper arm.

3) The blue dot to the right of my nose. I used to hate this with a passion few experience. Now, I honestly don’t even notice it and every time I do happen to notice, I smile. I was a wee little Emily running with a lead pencil, toppled over, pencil through skin, breakage, lead stuck in skin, skin heals over, lead turns blue under skin’s surface. Twenty years later, the blue dot remains. I’ve got lead in my face! (does that mean I need to be on the recall list?)

4) My fingers. They’re not very long or elegant or even beautiful, but they are nice. I mostly appreciate and love my hands because what would I do without them? I couldn’t play piano, for one. I couldn’t cook. I couldn’t type. I couldn’t paint my nails. I couldn’t hold hands with Kevin. I couldn’t do any of the things that I truly love. Agh, my fingers…I love them.

5) My voice. It’s taken me years to grow into it. I have a love/hate relationship. It’s not a high-reaching voice that can stretch across a canvas of octaves, but it’s low, raw, steady, and true. For the songs that I write, it’s perfect. Or, more accurately, I write songs that perfectly fit my voice.

6) My toes. They’re short and tiny, but strangely, I have gotten a lot of compliments on my feet and my toes, which has caused me to inspect them more closely. They fit me. Moreover, they support me. They balance me. They keep me upright. So, aside from just being cute, they are truly deserving of my love for their convenient role in keeping me, um, on my toes.

7) My eyes. On first glance, they would be described as brown, but when light hits them, they turn this green/brown that isn’t so much a morph of color as it is a speckling of color. They’re brown, but flecked with green. It’s awkward, but lovely.

8) My stomach. I might always have hips that don’t lie, but over the past 5 years, I have been able to control my stomach. Some days are better than others (depending on how many double chocolate truffles I eat), but for the most part, my stomach is under consistant control and sometimes it even displays a line up both sides, indication of the start of some abs.

9) My eyelashes. I’ve always gotten compliments on my lashes and they’re length, but now is the time to truly appreciate them. They make my eyes pop and, depending on the mascara I’m using, they’re out-of-control in length. I went to school with someone who had falsies sewn onto her actual eyelashes to give the appearance of more lash. She paid over $300 per eye. I feel that my natural lashes save me money. Hooray.

10) My breasts. Yes, I know there is a collective gasp from the audience right now, along with some blushing cheeks. I bet you can’t believe that I’m talking about my boobs in public. Well, believe it. Every woman has them so what’s the big secret? Mine are not too big and not too small. I think that I like them the way they are. They’re easily tucked away for a good jog, but are also easily oomphed for a nice cocktail dress. I’m glad that I have them.

Okay, that’s ten. It was slightly exhausting, but I did it. I discovered a pretty evil monster inside of me that found nearly 6.4 bad things for every good. (I averaged it out! Seriously.) So I guess that’s something to work on…

Oh, and 11) My laugh. Sometimes it’s loud. Sometimes it’s deathly silent because I’m laughing so hard that nothing comes out. But any way you look at it, I love to laugh and if I’m laughing, whether audibly or not, it means I’m having a good time. so I love it.

Ciao for now.