A search for belief

A hard looking in a mirror

I am fat. People point at me, saying: you can turn right, where the fat girl is. My parents say no clothes fit well, and that I look like a gas plug. My childhood memories dance as phantoms inside my soul, echoing: Elephant! Pig! Tub of lard! Killer whale! (I love animals, and whales as well. I always thought: whales? Ok! They're cute! But I am not an assassin. I wouldn't harm an ant!)

And now, here I am, alone in my bedroom, which has an enormous mirror. A gift from my ironic parents, who thought that I had to see my entire body every single day, so I could take some measures to get thinner.

I know who I am and that's what matters. I am Jade. A teenager with two or three loyal friends. A playful girl, who loves fairy tales. Does true love exist? I believe it. Even for someone like me.

I usually avoid the mirror, but today it's different! I look at my reflection, and I love my curly green hair, which I care so much to keep radiant, trying to show the glow that is hidden inside me.

Ok, mirror. I won't ask you who is the fairest of them all because that doesn't interest me. I remember everything I do every day. I help anyone who is in need, even if they throw strange looks at me. I just want a better world, full of joy, justice and love. And, as I keep looking and remembering those facts I realize that I am remarkably better than the ones who judge me. I care for everyone. Everything I hear is a reflection. Not like in this mirror, but a reflection of their own distressed minds. And now, I have the unbreakable certainty that what I reflect is only love, joy and empathy.

That's my strength! And that will never, ever, be broken by meaningless words.

I open my wardrobe and wear the only tight and short dress I have. As I step aside, I notice my new confidence brings a strange effect: fewer looks and swears, and even some boys seem to look at me with admiration. Would it be my mind playing tricks or me, or my radiance finally began to glow?