You probably just read the title of this and said ‘wtf?!’ to yourself. ‘Why is that of any importance?’ Honestly, I didn’t think it was either until I actually began living without a full-length mirror in my flat a few months ago.
At home in the states, whether it was at my parents’ house or at my accommodation for school, without fail I always checked myself out in that giant piece of reflective glass before leaving (a lot of the time more than once). Do I look presentable enough for the outside world to see me?
I’ve been living in England since September, on my year abroad, and have yet to add a full-length mirror to my home space, and all for good reason. VERY good reason.
Without the presence of what all 64 inches of my body looks like in my home, I have been paying special attention to the way I feel about myself internally rather than concentrating so heavily on my physical appearance. And let me tell ya, I feel GREAT.
Sometimes I didn’t just look in these mirrors to admire or adjust my outfit of choice for the day, but rather to knit pick every inch of my appearance from head to toe. Are my thighs far enough apart in these jeans? Can you see my bloated belly? Why am I so short? Do I look chunky?
Yes, I still ask myself some of those questions regularly, I am human and imperfect, but I am slowly but surely learning to appreciate the way that I am, inside and out.
Now, I pick out my outfits based on what I think I will look and feel great in, without wasting an extensive amount of time in the mirror picking at every detail of it. Of course, I still do use mirrors to do my hair and makeup daily but they are just big enough for that. Being comfortable with my stubborn acne and facial flaws is a step I have not yet managed to fully take, but progress is key.
Nonetheless, not having a mirror that can easily show me my appearance fully has truly helped my self-esteem significantly.
I do look into full-length mirrors when I’m out in stores and bathrooms that have them, but I don’t have the time to stop and dissect every physical detail of myself in that public setting.
After living this way for the past five and a half-ish months, I believe that at some point I will be confident enough to bring a full-length mirror back into my home, but I know I will not use it as a self-hate mechanism like I had once done. I mean what had done for the majority of my 21 years of life.
If you feel like you struggle with your self-confidence physically, I highly recommend going without a full-length mirror in your house for some time and see how much it changes your mind about yourself. But seriously...try it.
Sheetal Tadiparty
Flickr Creative Commons
