Alice Chesler Abrams

Hello?

Hi, Mom.

Hi, honey.

How are you?

I'm good.

How are you?

Hi, I'm Carrie O'Grady and I'm from Manhattan.

So my mom's mantra was, if you feel bad, look better.

My mom and I are complete opposites.

She is always perfectly put together and I am not.

Whatever.

I was a teenager.

Anytime I felt bad, whether it be over a boy or my skin or just life in general, my go-to was wanting to hide in my room, in bed, sweatpants, PJs, no makeup, and probably Ben and Jerry's.

And to be honest, I still do.

But now I'm almost 43 and I'm a professor and I commute nearly four and a half hours to and from my university multiple days per week.

I've even perfected applying eyeliner on the Peter Pan bus.

So when I get to work and a student says to me, I love your outfit today or you look great today, I immediately feel more awake than I would otherwise, more ready to conquer my day.

And while I'm still not ready to say my mom was right, I'll admit that she was onto something.

Don't make fun of something that someone that you love loves.

Let me tell you.