I still remember being about 12-years-old and crying on my back porch with my mom. I told her about how much I wanted to switch schools because I felt like I was never going to fit in. I mean, my nickname in my family was "chunka", you just don't bounce back from that. I was just a kid and I had already had the first taste of how important outer beauty was, and I felt like I really didn't have it. I cried and begged her to reconsider but she didn't. She made me embrace a different part of myself, and it's a very large part of why I am who I am today (thanks, Mom).

Middle school was a whirlwind of awkward hair styles, expensive but cheaply-made clothes with bird logos, and that one year when I tripped over a track hurdle and had a giant rash on half of my face for a week. On the surface, I was just like any other teenager, but I was becoming something more on the inside. Instead of being solely concerned about the clothes I was going to wear or what my makeup looked like, I was embracing a part of my personality that had always been there, but had never come to the surface fully. I started making people laugh and I started to realize that I felt good about myself for that. I was making friends with people who would normally cause me to crumble in their presence, but I was holding my own. Because of this, I was developing a confidence that would stand the test of time.

[Just awkwardly being a part of this photo from freshman year... Can we also talk about the popped collar?]

I was, in my own opinion, "popular by association" in high school. My friends were pretty, popular, and smart, the ones who got asked to prom and homecoming by upperclassmen. I was lucky enough to have boyfriends (conveniently) every time a dance rolled around so they were forced to accompany me. I had a lot of friends and was always in great company but I never fully felt like I belonged in the "elite circle of popularity" that my friends were a part of. I played Runescape alone in my room on the weekends, for goodness sake. Now, before you start to think I had major self-image issues, understand that I personally thought I was pretty, a great catch even, I just knew that was never going to be the first thing people noticed about me. I was silly, crazy, spontaneous, and always saying whatever was on my mind. If you were looking to have a good time, you could always rely on me to provide the entertainment. The only serious conversation I would have with guys about love would be about my friends and somehow, I found sweet relief in knowing that.

[Showchoir parking lot parties-- I didn't always dress like this.]

It was a sad truth but I embraced it because it had become a large part of who I was. And while it bothered me that I was never taken seriously or that I was constantly overlooked for "girlfriend status," by the popular guys in my grade, I was happy in my own world. Now, looking back at high school and college, I realize that I was so much more than the "funny girl." I was the friend who would be at your door in a heartbeat to lend a shoulder to cry on. I was the one who knew (and kept) everyone's secrets because I considered them a treasure which I was meant to guard to the bitter end. I gave incredible advice because I was immensely in tune with my own heart and mind. More than that, I made people feel good, and that's way more important to me than being the homecoming queen (though I was somehow nominated...definitely rigged). I began to become more confident because I knew that guys weren't interested in my outer appearance, they were intrigued by my mind and my happy-go-lucky spirit. It took an incredible weight off my shoulders because I didn't have to be anything special on the outside as long as I was myself on the inside.

[That one time I asked a friend to go to asorority outing with me in a onesie...]

At 24, a lot about my life has changed, but the important things have stayed the same. Somewhere in year 22 I learned how to dress myself properly and apply makeup but I feel just as good about myself in sweat pants as I do in a blazer. I have a beautiful niece who will be both the "pretty friend" AND the "funny friend" someday (if she can learn how to stop hitting other children at daycare). I'm still best friends with my hot friends from high school (who only got hotter in college) and I've recently been upgraded from "the funny friend" to the "single, never been married, no children in sight" friend. I make friends wherever I go and I've been told I can capture a room with my laughter. At the end of the day, I hope that any girl who is struggling with the mindset that she's just the "funny friend" realizes that she's so much more than that. I hope she realizes that it takes more to be the "funny friend" than to be the "pretty friend" and that the title is one of honor. You are beautiful at the very core of your soul and that's what makes you the kind of person that people flock to. You may never have that perfect body or the smile of a model but you will always have the ability to make everyone around you curl over with laughter-- and that's timeless.