FROM THE EDITOR
Ihave never felt the full force of imposter syndrome until this moment.
As I write this, I am sitting in our London office. Award-winning covers gleam on the walls around me, the warm (if fleeting) sunshine is streaming in through the windows and the wonderfully kind and talented Cosmopolitan team chat and laugh around me. And… well… I guess I’m the “boss” now? But the truth is I still feel like the 19-year-old who visited this very magazine on work experience over a decade ago.
The day I found out I got this job, I cried tears of joy in the toilets at work and wiped away the nonwaterproof mascara I had foolishly applied that morning, my ugly-cry face resembling Violet Beauregarde after she swells into a giant blueberry. Retreating home, I unearthed some joggers from my floordrobe and ordered a takeaway. With a glass of lukewarm wine in hand and Netflix auto-playing, I felt like a total failure.
Why? Because I suddenly panicked that this sort of normal human behaviour was exactly the reason I would never be good enough to do this job. Should I have better hair? Should I have more fashionable clothes? Should I know how to do eyeliner by this point in my life? Am I too young? Or too old? And shouldn’t I be out drinking champagne in some stylish bar, or yelling at someone about florals for spring not being groundbreaking, instead of eating carbs alone on my sofa?
For the uninitiated, this feeling is imposter syndrome.
Thankfully, I was comforted by two things. Firstly, the wine, takeaway and leisurewear I just mentioned. But secondly, and most importantly, if there’s one brand where being a perfectly imperfect person, and revelling in the brilliance and beauty of that, is not only OK but championed, it’s Cosmopolitan.
One thing this magazine will never do is tell you that who you are is wrong, what you feel isn’t important or that the way you look isn’t good enough. There are plenty of things in life making us feel that way already.
So if, unlike me, mastering better make-up application is an attainable goal for you, we’ll help you nail it (p24). If getting that next big pay rise or making a career change is on your agenda, we’ll give you the advice you need to get there (p66). If you want to broaden your mind and challenge the way you think, we’ve got the best long-read features in the business (pp80-103). Or, if your current life goal is just choosing which TV show is worth your weekend binge-watch time, we’ve got that covered, too (p17).
We are all works in progress, this magazine included, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of that. You do you, because that’s all you should ever be and it. is. enough. So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise… (and that includes your own inner monologue).
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