Erica didn’t always have it easy.

Growing up, Erica was under 5’0 feet tall with dark skin and glasses. There was no one in magazines who looked like her, so she grew up believing everything about her was somehow wrong.

Fast forward today, and Erica says she’s now “six million times more confident.” Watch the video to hear her story.

As always, we’d love to hear your story too. Did you grow up in the 70s? Or did you have a similar experience comparing yourself to supermodels?

Let us know in the comments after you watch this video.

Those messages, they burrow themselves in there and they get stuck. I refused to put very much time or energy into maintenance. Like, I’m not gonna spend time in the morning doing hair or makeup, anything. So my look is kinda built on that, super low maintenance.

When I was working in restaurants, and even when I was teaching, you always had to have your hair up or have it covered. And so, my hair’s been a million different ways all throughout my life. When I first started cooking professionally, I had shoulder-length hair. You know, big, thick, really good hair, but it was always up—constantly up—and it was annoying, and it was really hot.  So I finally just cut it really short, mostly just for convenience’s sake. 

But also, just my creative energy makes me feel really vital. I mean, food, obviously, because I work in the food world. But I feel like the better the food is that I eat, meaning, you know, not high-end fancy, but the more local and seasonal and organic and quality the food is, that really taps into this sense of vitality for me and makes me feel really good. You know, the better I eat… like, in a day where I eat a lot more vegetables, I just feel way better and more vital, you know. On a day where I don’t, I can really feel it, so that sort of thing.

Also, spending time with people who I really wanna be around, as opposed to people I don’t wanna be around. I think the older you get, the pickier and choosier you can be about who you spend time with, and I think that’s really important.

You know, even if you have a life partner, a family that you’re very close with, I think there’s something so utterly vital and critical about having a really strong group of other female friends around you, who you can rely on and talk to. To me, that’s so… it’s soul-nourishing to have them. They’re your family of choice. And I think especially as you get older, I know there have even been studies done about health and longevity, that the stronger your friendships and relationships are the older you get, the healthier you’ll be.

If I could go back and whisper very loudly in the ear of my 20s-year-self, I would say, ”Just stop doubting yourself so much and stop being so concerned with…not even with what other people think, but even just what you think of yourself. And maybe just trust your instincts.” Or I don’t know, in my 20s, I felt like I didn’t even have any instincts, I was so unable to trust them. I feel like I wasted a lot of time because of insecurity and not trusting my instincts, and I think, just that—listen to yourself and trust what’s inside. 

And buy real estate in New York, because it was cheap back then.