The Lies in the Mirror
Written September 2003
The image in the mirror shows what
is thought of as me. Nearly black hair. Brown eyes. Glasses. Colorful yet
simple clothing. The mirror sees the surface image. It doesn’t see inside
me. It sees the physical, but not the mental. Guess what? The mirror lies.
That is not Dev.
The mirror cannot capture me. The mirror cannot tell who
I am beyond the physical appearance, which we all know as misleading. It
cannot capture my personality. It cannot capture my faults. It cannot capture
my talents. It cannot capture my priorities. Those are the things that count.
Those things are on the inside. The mirror will never show them.
The mirror cannot capture intelligence. Therefore, it
cannot capture me. What am I without my intelligence? It is a big part of
me. My intelligence lies in everything I do. It’s there when I make decisions.
It’s there when I do work, whether in school or on my own. It’s there when
I make comments, and when I speak. It’s there when I think. It’s always there,
hiding in the back of my mind, waiting to be put to good use. Yes, the intelligence
is there. The intelligence is in me, and no mirror can ever see it.
The mirror cannot capture creativity. Therefore, it cannot
capture me. What am I without my creativity? It is a big part of me. It’s
what allows me to express myself. It’s what allows me to write, and where
i s a writer without her writing? Nowhere. Yes, the creativity is there.
The creativity is in me, and no mirror can ever see it.
The mirror cannot capture helpfulness. Therefore,
it cannot capture me. What am I without my helpfulness? It is a big part
of me. It is the reason I am here. It is what makes me feel that I have earned
my place in the world. Uch’she-a-ni l’atz’mi ma a-ni. If I am only for myself,
what am I? I must help others, not only because it is the right thing to
do but also because it is important to me. Yes, the helpfulness is there.
The helpfulness is in me, and no mirror can ever see it.
The mirror cannot capture stubbornness. Therefore, it
cannot capture me. What am I without my stubbornness? It is a big part of
me. If it weren’t for my stubbornness, I wouldn’t have managed half of the
things I have done. I wouldn’t have fought as many battles as I have fought.
I wouldn’t have grown as much as I have grown. I wouldn’t have learned as
much as I have learned. All those things, and the persistence needed to do
them, are based off my stubbornness. It is embedded into most of the things
I do. Yes, the stubbornness is there. The stubbornness is in me, and no mirror
can ever see it.
I’m intelligent. I’m creative. I’m helpful. I’m stubborn.
Without these traits, what am I? Am I just a body taking up space? That’s
all the mirror sees. A body taking up space. The mirror lies. I’m not just
a body taking up space. I’m me.