I had a moment, for the first time in my life, a moment in which I thought I looked truly beautiful. It’s a moment of vanity that I will never forget.

I was at a restaurant on the seafront, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Blue Coast, the French Riviera. I was at a restaurant with the wrong man; not the love of my life, as I had wished. I was drinking wine, smoking a cigarette, and I glanced at my reflection in the window behind the man. I was glowing; tan skin, sparkling white teeth, messy hair, au naturale. I was smiling, I was laughing, I was happy.

That is the first and only time in my life that I have seen my reflection and thought to myself, “You know what girl, you look beautiful right now.”

And for that, I am very grateful and truly blessed, albeit a little ashamed of my egotism. But, who cares. Beauty is within the eye of the beholder, and lo and behold, in that moment, I was beautiful.