A teacher once gave me a very strange assignment. It changed my life. My parents had just announced their divorce to be final and I had made some very wrong friendships – I was a typical teenage story. This teacher really cared about us as people, and she invited me to eat lunch with her one day. I thought I was in trouble, but I was about to get the best lesson of my life.

My teacher told me that I had to go home, shut the bathroom door and look at myself in the mirror. She said I had to keep looking at myself until I could no longer see what I perceived to be countless imperfections. I had to look until I only saw me.

I told her I would have a nervous breakdown and die if I did that. She said she felt sure I wouldn’t. So I did it At first glance I said what every girl, no matter her age, says, “Gross!” I saw that my nose was too straight, my pores too big, my lips to thin, and my eyebrows never were good enough. But I kept looking. After ten minutes I saw that my nose was too straight, my pores too big, my lips too thin, and my eyebrows were still out of control. But I caught a glimpse of someone else. I didn’t admit it then, but that glimpse has made me return to the mirror every time life overwhelms me. This routine has helped make me beautiful inside and out. It has added to my body image and my daily lifestyle.

Believe it or not, what I saw that day and continue to see is the Me that is gifted at music and dance. I saw the Me who had two really good friends whose purpose in life was not to self destruct. I saw someone who was scared to death about the uncertainties in her life. And I saw the Me who could ask for help so she could handle whatever came her way.

I survived the assignment, the divorce and countless other catastrophes in my life. I continue to survive the onslaught of perfect bodies in my favorite magazines (why do we torture ourselves and renew our subscriptions…), low rise jeans, the return of bell bottoms, break-ups and melt downs. I appreciate the good times and the really good friends I still have from high school. While I continue to buy the latest moisturizer and anti-aging cream, my real beauty secret is Me. I value my body and my straight nose and minimized pores. I’m healthier inside and out because I keep taking trips to the mirror.

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