If you stood in front of a mirror, what would your reflection say? Would it tell you that you’re beautiful and should never change? Would it tell you all of your deepest darkest secrets and shame you for them? We all have an idea of what we look like to others, but what do we look like to ourselves? I’m not talking about appearance as in clothes, accessories, or even shoes. I’m talking about what we look like on the inside, what's actually skin-deep, and how we feel. Are we completely confident with who we are and how we look?
Personally, I am not. If I was standing in front of a mirror, I know what my reflection would say; it wouldn’t be pretty.
If I stood in front of the mirror, my initial though would be: “I’m bold and I am beautiful,” but my refection would say many things back to me. For the most part, my confidence is hardly there.
As a male, I still struggle with body-image problems. It is quite uncommon, but still happens. I fear my reflection because I see someone I never want to see. I pass windows walking down the street and I see this…this thing staring back at me. My demeanor changes. My gentle walk turns into a brisk canter and I turn my head with disgrace.
I often wonder how my many rude things my reflection would actually say. I bet it would sound a little like: “You truly let yourself go. How could you ever do that? Look at your face, you have way too much acne.” Or maybe even like the movie Mulan: “Dishonor on you and your family!”
I never wanted to feel the way I feel, but what can I do? I can simply change my way of mind. Change. That’s often a word that gets tossed around like a football. Oh, you’re too big, you know you could change that? You’re too ungrateful with your life, you need to change. You’re depressed? You need to change that. People often don’t understand how hard change actually is.
This leads to a cure for changing. A cure to change all the things about yourself. How can I fix what my reflection would say? I could run, I could calorie count, I could even do both! Then I came to realize, my cure isn’t to change, but rather to accept my faults and love myself for who I am! I accepted my body, I accepted my ways and I love myself. I love myself for being strong; for being confident and allowing to wake everyday struggling with my weight identity. My reflection will never have a voice that matters to me anymore. I can live my life more positively and I will never doubt my abilities to do anything!
The voice of my reflection will forever echo in my ear, but it’ll forever be a distant sound. I will continue living the life I have chosen to live, in which I will prosper and be continually happy. I will love not only myself, but my family and peers, as well. As well as everyone should. We should love who we are and how we look! Remember to live life to the fullest because you never want your reflection to dictate your life. Beauty is not only what we physically see, but it is skin-deep, as well. Never let you reflection run your life. You might be your biggest enemy, but you can also be your biggest fan!
If your reflection could talk, what would it tell you?
