Being attractive is awesome, and any attractive person who says otherwise has zero perspective.

I was an Abercrombie model for about 9 months in college. I’m 6′2′’, broad shouldered, athletic, and I’ve got a handsome but generic profile - a few times a week people tell me I look like a particular actor (often Finnick Odair from Hunger Games).

Many studies point to the effect attractiveness has on all interpersonal relations: romantic, as most would expect, but also social and professional.

The most important, always, is girls. It’s great because they’ll try hard to meet you. It’s kind of adorable - they’ll loiter hoping you notice, they’ll try to ‘accidentally’ meet you, they’ll try to be sultry and it’ll come off goofy, but you want to get with them anyway because they’re cute. I live for girls, so I thank my lucky stars every day for the looks. But socially people treat you better and it’s easier to get your way. Professionally, I feel like by dressing well, speaking with authority and “looking the part,” I get a lot more gravitas than I deserve.

There are some downsides: multiple boyfriends have threatened to kill me. Also, I’m incredibly vain - I started losing my hair and I’m more worried about that than the death threats, which is messed up.

But do you want to know a secret?

Men get far more mileage from social status than from physical attractiveness. It sounds like feel-goodism but it’s not. Women like good looks but are hyper-attuned to social status. Ever hear girls talking about male models? No. They go for rock stars, rich guys, famous guys, etc. many of whom aren’t particularly good looking. Jack Nicholson probably has more notches than anybody on earth right now. Look at Kate Moss’s rocker boyfriend Pete Doherty.

Even if you don’t want to play the status game, men also have more latitude in being attractive. Be confident and charismatic. Work out a lot, buy better clothes, get a nice haircut. Have an interesting life. Most girls, if shown that description, would be interested in meeting a guy like that.