A lot of this, I think comes from the messages girls get from the moment they enter the world. Our value is measured by our looks, that's what we're told. Nobody ever says, "hey, look at that wonderfully intelligent and compassionate baby." They say, "look at the pretty girl." The stories we grow up reading and hearing are all about the beautiful princess who totally "wins" because she's beautiful. The women we see on magazines, on TV and in movies are and were by and large all gorgeous. Commercials show pretty people having fun. It's just everywhere. I grew up painfully insecure because I never felt I measured up to those standards. It didn't matter that I was smart. It didn't matter that I was a gymnastics and track star or that I was kind . It only mattered that I didn't look like the girls I saw on TV. I was certain my life would be perfect if I could look perfect because that's the message I got from day 1.

Men don't think the way women do by and large. So, I get his answer to her. What else was he going to say, she already overheard him admitting she was no beauty queen. I would have went with something a little less clumsy like, "you're beautiful to me," but that's me.

So much more to say...but this is turning into an article of its own, so I'll shut up for now. :)