I am not the kind of girl who looks good in the morning. My hair is mental, my skin is all puffy and splotchy, and it takes about 10 minutes for my eyelids to pry themselves apart. On particularly early days, I can almost swear that I’m cross-eyed. I keep my mouth pressed tight in a chapped, disgruntled line, and I shuffle along like one of the walking dead. The only one who can squeeze a response from this zombiefied version of myself is our family’s fat little poodle--she’s just too fat to resist!

Needless to say, in no way, shape, or form am I a morning person. Mornings are rough on me, and it really, really shows.

Later on, when I’ve had breakfast, brushed, bathed, and dolled myself up, I look better. I feel better, too.

But some days, it’s not so easy. I think, for anybody, there are these unavoidable times when the day seems stacked against you. It might start with something tiny and insignificant, but no matter how much you try to tamp it down, it blows itself up and destroys your whole day. It’s usually a combination of different things—maybe you have your period, you've snagged your best silk shirt, you’re feeling a little chunky around the middle, and then something, just something you can’t quite put your finger on, is niggling at you, making you feel dreadful.

In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly asks her handsome new neighbor, “You know those days when you get the mean reds?”

“The mean reds?” the neighbor, Paul Varjak, says. “You mean like the blues?”

“No,” Holly replies. “The blues are because you’re getting fat and maybe it’s been raining too long—you’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Well, when I get [them], the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany’s. Calms me down right away.”

I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten the mean reds exactly, but once in a while, I do get some dark blues. You know how those go—all day, you’re soaking in PMS, a potent bath of snappishness and dejection, and the worst part is, you can’t explain why. When you don’t know what’s ailing you, you can’t address the problem at its root—and this only compounds your frustration.

Unfortunately, not all of us can take a trip to Tiffany’s to soothe our misgivings. All I do is take a deep breath and tell myself to shake it off—and while I’m at it, I recall the advice of others. Wise words don’t really solve anything, but they do reassure you—and sometimes, that can make all the difference.

So if you’re feeling a bit depressed, a little ugly, or just a touch unfabulous, try out these inspirational quotes. They give you encouragement—and some pretty sound fashion advice—and at the very least, they make for fitting status messages (LOL!).

(Flashbox photo from New Girl courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Television)