Behind the Mirror

2026-01-01

On looking in the mirror and finally meeting yourself — the woman you became instead of the one you thought you had to be.

There is a woman staring back at me in the mirror.

She is hopeful and tired and wiser and indestructible. She has stories to tell. Scars and art and tattoos to explain.

I am different. I am the same.

For years I have been trying to get back to the girl I once knew. The parts of her worth keeping.

But in retrospect, I'm beginning to think I wasn't really "her". Not really. This "her" was a broken piece of glass, reflecting back images she thought others might want to see. A carefully curated contortion designed to earn adoration.

Sweet. Sexy. Nonchalant. Powerful. Romantic. Cool.

Those fragmented reflections are just memories now. All that remains is me.

Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the woman I am, the person I'm becoming, isn't all that bad. Just unfamiliar.

I think she's worth knowing too.