A piece of glass. Maybe hanging in the bathroom. Maybe hanging in your room. Maybe tiny enough to do your makeup in or maybe big enough to see every inch of you.

The mirror. The mirror. The mirror.

I am repeating this phrase because mirrors are one of society’s many underlying issues.

Mirrors contribute heavily to body image and feelings of self-worth. They build walls of perception and reality. They challenge our body positivity each and every day.

Mirrors know no gender, religion, or sexual preference. Males, females, transsexuals, pansexuals, Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, none of that matters to them. Mirrors are one of the few things that every single person on this Earth has in common.

They don’t care about your grades, what you will do after graduation, or how great your last interview went. All they care about is showing you something that doesn’t matter. But mirrors know that this thing matters to you.

Your looks. The way other people see you. Your hips. Your thighs. Your muscles. The pimples that cover your back. The way your legs look in shorts. The way you stand. The way you sit. Your hair. Your makeup.

The things we see in the mirror are endless.

It’s the way we perceive these things that is really hurting us.

When you look in the mirror do you ever stop and think, “wow I look amazing and I wouldn’t change a single thing about how I look today!” Maybe sometimes, but I guarantee more often than not when you look into a mirror you're not happy about what you see.

Females and males have been trained to use mirrors to simply look at what is wrong and try to fix it. The only time I see mirrors being used correctly is in the gym. To watch yourself do workouts and have proper form and alignment is essential to avoiding injury. But at the same time, in someone’s mind they may look farther down the wall in the mirror and notice that that person has bigger muscles or is better looking than they are.

Destruction!

Mirrors make their way into our lives. They sit in the most private places. I understand having mirrors in public bathrooms, but really, if I’m sitting in class all day listening to lectures and taking notes, do I need to check on what I look like? Do I need to make sure my hair is perfect? The answer is probably not.

I challenge you to start using the mirror less.

I challenge you to be happy with the way you look – even on the days you don’t.

I challenge you to smile when you look in the mirror, I bet it will turn your day around.

I challenge you to look the way you want to look and to stop considering other’s opinions.

I challenge you to just be you.