"I'm starting with the [wo]man in the mirror...

...Take a look at yourself, and then make a change."

I am not who I thought I would grow up to be.

The girl I see in the mirror brushing her teeth is far from the girl I used to be. So much more than the reflection has changed. I wonder what the little girl in the mirrow would think of the one who searches her reflection now.

The little girl was kind, shy, and compassionate. She wouldn't dream of doing anything to hurt anyone. Say anything that could be taken the wrong way. She didn't swear, lie, or fight. She put others above herself and wanted nothing more than to make her daddy proud. She strived so hard to make everyone else happy...and that was enough.

The person today is a far cry from the little, innocent girl with long brown hair. She has done things the little girl would have never dreamed of doing when she grew up. The older one has said things that are hurtful. Has talked behind the backs of others. Has lied to protect herself. Has put herself in positions that would have been near-atrocities in the eyes of the young one. She has hurt her friends and put herself above the others in her life. She has taken people for granted whom the little girl would have gone to the end of the earth and back for.

The little girl knew what she wanted in life. Her plan was set in stone and she knew she would not waiver from it. Her confidence in herself was remarkable and she knew she was fallible, but that she would succeed.

The girl of today has no idea what she wants. Her life's plan has all but flown out the window. She barely knows what she will do in the next week much less the next ten years.

Where did the confidence go? Where did the compassion and innocence disappear to? Would the little girl who once stood on a stool to see in the mirror recognize what her reflection has become? Who she has made herself into?

Would she approve?