Dear Freckles,

When I was 6 years old, my Nana told me “a face without freckles is like a night without stars” and I believed her. I thought freckles were the coolest things ever because not everyone had them. When I was 9 years old, I went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant and the owner’s daughter, who was about my age, came up to me and squinted her eyes at me. She smiled in amazement and began counting my freckles. She thought she could count every single one of you, but she gave up after she lost track. You were different and unique, and I loved you.

When I was 14 years old, you stood out too much in the summer. The sun brought out the best in you and the worst in me. I thought I looked ugly. I hated looking at photos of myself with freckles from the summer sun and I would cry, wishing I was freckle-free. I thought you were weird. I thought boys would never possibly like me if I had freckles. My friends didn’t have any of you, so when I was 16 years old, I covered you with makeup.

I squirted foundation over you and I blotted my face with powder. I couldn’t see you anymore and I thought this was a good thing. I thought I looked prettier without you. As a teen, I’d stare at magazine photos of models with their flawless (and freckle-less) skin. I wanted to look like them. I would complain to my mom about you and she would tell me “they are beautiful,” but that’s what moms are supposed to say, right? I even went online and looked up ways to get rid of you. I tried everything from rubbing lemon juice on my skin to coating my face in sour cream. Nothing worked, so I gave up, and I hated you.

Now I am almost 19 years old. My friends tell me they wish they had freckles. A boy told me he was crazy about freckles and asked me why I covered you up with makeup. I told him I didn’t like my freckles. He told me I was out of my mind. Well, freckles, turns out he was right.

You are what make me who I am. You are what make me original. Everyone tells me I wouldn’t be the same without you. When I walked into a clothing store last month, there was a giant poster of a model with freckles spotting her face hanging behind the counter.

In fact, in the past couple years the amount of models with freckles has multiplied, giving freckled girls everywhere the confidence they deserve. Emma Watson, Gisele Bündchen, Erin Heatherton, Mischa Barton, Rashida Jones. These are celebrities who embrace their freckles, and they are all so beautiful. Freckles are fun. Freckles represent innocence and youthfulness. Freckles are not "imperfections."

So freckles, here’s to you. You have always been with me, and I will never wish you away again. Now I love you again, like I did as a little girl, and I know that as long as my face is freckly, my nights will forever be starry.

Love, Me