Written by C
I was looking in the mirror this evening to put on a facemask when I paused to look up at my reflection. I noticed that the girl looking back at me is pretty. Is she pretty because she has flawless smooth skin, or a ‘perfectly’ symmetrical face? Or maybe it’s because of the size of her body? Surely it has to be one of those things because that’s what being pretty is…right? Wrong!
What makes her pretty are the lips that she can use to make so many different expressions, a goofy smile, a confused frown, a poker straight line when her dad tells another one of his awfully cheesy jokes, and her eyes that have that sparkly glint in them where the light bounces off her curious, smiling, mischievous or sometimes tear filled eyes. All of the things that make her pretty are all of the things that make her, her. Every single one of her features are unique to anyone else’s and they don’t and never will belong to anyone else. Individually, all of her body parts do their jobs so well and that makes each of them beautiful, and they all come together to make this lovely, unique girl that’s so full of hope, optimism, love and lots of giggles that yeah, sometimes come out at the wrong times but that’s yet another thing that makes her her!
You often hear the saying “it’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that matters” which in condition you just write off as an excuse for people who ‘don’t look good’ but through recovery, I’ve come to realise that I don’t agree with that phrase, but for a completely different reason now. Now that I’m recovered, it’s both what’s on the inside and the outside that matters to me. I used to picture that when I was recovered, I’d see myself as being a ‘good’ person for everything that was inside and that I’d just be able to get to the stage where I wasn’t dissing how I looked all the time, and sure that’d be grand. But now that I am recovered, I consider what’s on the outside to be just as important, because it’s what’s outside that allows us to express the beauty of everything inside! And yes, despite what you may think now, those exterior features that help to display what you’re thinking or feeling?(now brace yourselves, this is a big secret…) They.are.beautiful. every single part and cell, because they make you you and that uniqueness that condition tries so hard to hide from us, is the most beautiful thing in the world. Your thoughts, your smile, your ears, your arms, your legs, they’re all so unique so use them to your advantage!
That girl in the mirror that I saw is pretty, and that girl is me. That girl or guy that you see in the mirror? They’re pretty or handsome too and they’re you. So don’t forget to give them a little smile to thank them for being so amazing next time you catch a glimpse of them in the mirror.
C.
