I got my mother’s genes for quite a few things. I got her big hips, fair skin and her freckles. My mom is covered in freckles, so I think it makes her skin look tanner than it actually is. My cheeks are filled with them, but there aren’t as many on my arms and legs. My sister used to try to play connect the dots on my arms. I hated my freckles and the birthmark on my temple. None of my friends had them, and my sister didn’t, so why did I? I never understood how to be happy with these marks on my face, no matter how many times my mom told me that they were beautiful. Apparently I needed to hear it from other people, like random strangers, customers at work, or people I just met.

Little girls grow up thinking that their face should be spotless. No pimples, no birthmarks, no freckles. Most celebrities have any marks on their faces and bodies photoshopped, whether they ask for it or not. There are a bunch that do let their freckles and beauty marks show. Whether it's just splatters of freckles like Emma Watson or Emma Stone, or beauty marks like Marilyn Monroe or Blake Lively, A smooth surface is not the only factor of a beautiful face. Freckles make you different, in the most beautiful way. No one has the same pattern of freckles as you, or the same birthmark shaped like a cat next to their bellybutton like you. Freckles come in all shapes and sizes. You might have only one, or you might be covered head to toe. It took me so long to figure out that this was something to be happy about.

After so many years of hating my freckles and the beauty mark on my face, I have finally started to love them. It was when I started making less effort to cover them up that people started complimenting me on them. Maybe it was because I stopped piling makeup on my face. The look of caked-on foundation was definitely not pretty, so there was no point in covering my freckles if it ended up looking worse. Sheer coverage makeup was my new go-to. My freckles would get darker and multiply during the summer months, so that was when people started noticing. At first I felt a little uncomfortable and tongue-tied when people pointed them out. I got nervous about them looking at my face that close up. What if they saw all of my imperfections? Then I realized that these “imperfections” were what made me unique. Sure, there might have been a pimple here or there, but at least they would blend in a little with the other freckles and beauty marks on my face.

Now, my freckles are one of the first things that people notice about me. So to all the people that have ever complimented my freckles: thank you. I know I shouldn’t have to hear it from anyone else, but at first I needed to. Otherwise, I might still be trying to cover them up every day.