If You Give a Girl a Mirror

She sleeps safe and sound in her crib surrounded by her stuffed animals. She dreams endlessly without fear of being judged.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s three, she’ll be amazed by the world on the other side.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s six, she’ll wish to be a princess as she dances around her room in a tiara and crown. Oh, to wish without fear, what a wonderful thing.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s ten, she’ll start to see the details on her body that society calls “flaws” in her appearance, even at such a young age. She no longer dreams of being a princess because, in her mind, it might as well be impossible.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s twelve, she’ll notice why no one wants to be her friend. She’s called “fat,” “ugly,” “chubby,” and “gross” by her peers at school, and with the tragic power of the mirror, she can see it.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s thirteen, she’ll ponder in front, asking herself if she can possibly fix how she looks because everything she sees is not beautiful. If only she knew.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s fourteen, she’ll sit in front of it for hours, crying. She picks apart her pencil sharpener, finds the blade and destroys her beautiful skin that society has so subtly hidden by cruel remarks.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s fifteen, she’ll pinch at her skin and suck in her tummy wherever she goes. She’ll start eating less because no one really cares. She just wants the princess that was once in the mirror to be happy. She doesn’t care about the numerous scars and cuts upon her skin.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s sixteen, she’ll hate herself more and more each day because what she sees isn’t the girl she wants to be. She sees the demons that weigh her down and surround her mind, the ones who mention suicide everyday. After all, her demons have never left her when everyone else has,

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s seventeen, she’ll come home from her first heartbreak and see her tear-stained face. She’ll pick herself apart even more than she already was. She’ll make herself believe that her heart was broken because of how she is, how she looks, inside and out. If only she could look into her mirror and see exactly how far she has come.

If you give a girl a mirror when she’s eighteen, she’ll break it. By now, she’s just done with everyone because they don’t care and everything because nothing ever helps. She just doesn’t feel alive anymore. She doesn’t think as she’s taking the pills in handfuls from the medicine cabinet. She grabs more and more until she can no longer open the various lids. Before she falls, she starts to black out and catches a glimpse of a young princess. With a tear-stained face, she realizes that it was herself when she was younger…. she knows now that she should’ve held onto that one tiny dream. But, of course, it’s too late now.

Her thoughts are no more. Her parents stand idly near the headstone. The only thing they think about is the moment they found her. Her tear-stained face, white and cold. Her little brother cries himself to sleep, whereas her mother can’t possibly sleep, and her dad quit his job because there was no point. His princess was six feet under. After all she was always a princess in his eyes.

Be careful if you give a girl a mirror, don’t let her gaze too long.