Resolution

This is me, at 9 p.m., in makeup I'd had on for more than twelve hours. I'd worked until five, and then came home and spent several hours doing some contracted web design, and by the time I took this picture, I was ready to get in bed. So why am I showing you this? Because this is me—my real, true self. This wasn't some contrived head shot where I'd taken my sweet time getting my eye shadow just right. This wasn't me looking at the camera and pretending I don't care when I really do. No, this was me being honest with myself about who I am, and actually liking what I see.

I didn't have a New Year's resolution per se. It always annoys me when people make them, don't give themselves the opportunity to succeed, and then proceed to proclaim their failure on January 2. But if I had to make a resolution this year, it would be to love myself more. To accept myself more. To understand that I'm the only me there is, and that's pretty cool.

It's so easy to point out our flaws, and for some reason, always in the context that no one else has them. Tonight I came to terms with the fact that I'm probably always going to have cellulite. But you know what? So are a lot of other people. We all have things about ourselves that we don't like, but we're never alone in them. And we can't let those trivial things outweigh the good stuff.

When I sit back and really think about my life, I love who I am. I love that I have such strange and diverse taste in music. I love that I obsessively write books without worrying whether or not they'll all be published. And I really love the man I married. I have a great life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. If you're looking for a key to happiness, I'd say that's it—knowing how good you have it. There are some things in life you can't control, but learn to love the rest of it, and to embrace what just might be amazing. Because you never know what might make you happy unless you open your eyes to see it.