by Kate Friedkis, from The Huffington Post

These are some reasons why you should feel good about your body:

1. It enables you to recognize yourself, and other people to recognize you. Which is really important, because there are billions of people in the world. You have stuff going on that no one else does. It’s fantastic. It’s a really good thing. In fact, I want to meet you, just to see all the ways in which we’re interestingly different and comfortingly similar.

2. It is incredibly complicated, but tends to work. And you’re alive. Which is absolutely astounding, when you take a moment to think about it.

3. Even though you can recognize yourself, you always look different. How you feel and what you do and who you’re with and what kind of mirror you’re looking in all shift and rearrange the way you appear to yourself. It’s cool. Sometimes it’s awful. Sometimes you feel like total crap. But there’s always potential for startling beauty. Or surprising awesomeness.

4. No matter what you look like, you’re hot to other people. Like, seriously hot. Except to internet trolls. Even supermodels aren’t hot to them. Once I read someone’s rant about how big Gisele Bundchen’s nose is. Which made me feel like my nose was about the size of, let’s say, the moon. But longer. My friend told me that she was feeling really ugly the other day and then someone on the street was like, “Hey, you’re beautiful!” A homeless guy on the street told me I have a gorgeous ass two nights ago. OK, not exactly the same. The point is — it’s pretty sweet that we’re all attractive. Did I really mess that point up, with the homeless guy comment? Moving on.

5. There are a lot of different options for clothes. Unlike a while ago, when women had to wear uncomfortable dresses all the time. And corsets. And the same neckline. And you had to make your own tampons. Wait. That’s a different thing. You have a lot of choices now. You can find something that looks amazing. When I’m old, I’m going to wear all these flowy, priestessy outfits. Like, in silver and green. I have it planned out.

6. You can find something about your appearance that is stunning. Even on a day when you feel gross. We’re trained to find the flaws. I feel like my brain is an evil little badger sometimes. It grabs the flaws and hangs on. No! Bad badger! I am capable of identifying positive stuff. I can practice at it. I can get good at it. I am looking in the mirror right now, because there happens to be a mirror over the desk I’m writing on. I like my lips. Right now. My lips are stunning. They are perfect. And I’m stopping at that.

7. But not stopping the list. Seven is a luckier number. There’s more to it than your body.Which I forget, in my worst moments of image based self-doubt. I can write really lovely songs, for example. I do not have to look lovely when I sing them. Just the songs are enough. But maybe I look lovely when I sing them anyway.

8. Oh, I have another one! You don’t have to be perfect!! Perfection is stupid. It’s a myth perpetuated by Photoshop and fantasy. You don’t have to look any one way to look beautiful, great, stunning, wonderful, pretty, gorgeous, amazing, strong, fantastic, cute, nice, cool, or any other good thing. Often, you just have to look like you.

Kate Freidkis, www.EatTheDamnCake.com wrote this article for the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival, from NOW’s Love Your Body Day.