Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall (Reflections of You)
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?” This quote most of us recognize from the story Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The mirror is owned by the Wicked Queen who asks this question every day. The mirror never lies.
Such a historical piece of fairy tale literature that has been told since ages. We take a closer look at that phrase and analyze the metaphor of “Mirror, mirror, one the Wall, “Who is the fairest of them all?” The main theme of "Mirror, mirror” is self-reflection. The Queen in the story looks to the mirror in an effort to find out who she is, but the mirror only reflects her exact image. Poet Sylvia Plath wrote a phenomenal poem called The Mirror. She searches the mirror for an image that reflects the way she sees herself and feels inside.
As we are bombarded by society's perception of us, their mirror of what they want you to be becomes shallow, imitation, devalued, manipulated, dressed up, and succumbed to a world that is no longer personal yet social media. We become broken fragments and misplaced pieces of what we see in our own Mirror. Through our own emotional and physical challenges we dress it up until we are no longer recognizable to ourselves.
We have now become the Queen in Snow White and we began to ask ourselves, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. Who is the: fairest, the smartest, the prettiest, the most liked, the one with the most followers, the one with the best social media page, the nicest body, the prettiest hair, the nicest cars, the best jobs?” Like the Queen, we are now totally unrecognizable. We are fragments of a mirror that is broken and it sees us the way society sees us, not how we view ourselves.
Smoke and Mirrors
It is all an illusion - a deliberate and calculated deception, often in the context of politics. However, let's take the term and see how it applies to the illusion of our own daily mirror. My transparent moment with my smoking mirror was about 30 years ago in the age of “Black Girls” with or Box Braids, long weaves, and ponytails (No, this is not being Stereotypical… this is what we wore in the 90s.) As these styles were the culture, I thought that this was the only way I could be beautiful. The illusion of long hair gave me a false sense that this made all the Black women pretty, admirable, and fashionable.
As I wore the long braids, hair waves, and hair pieces, I hated every bit of it. Nevertheless, I wore it well with the illusion of “She is Beautiful.” I found myself in my own personal mirror asking the same question the Queen asked, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall?” Which meant, Is this really me? Is this really who I am? Is this who and what people would like for me to be? The Illusion #SmokingMirror.
Foggy Mirror
(Cleaning Time)
As we know, At some point in our lives we have all had some experience of “Foggy Mirrors.” Ultimately, the cause of fogginess on a mirror is pretty simple—dust and similar build-ups over time from a sheet over the reflective surface. If left for long enough, this dust can become embedded in the mirror itself. This makes the process of cleaning your mirror much harder over time and can lead to a permanent loss of shine as a result.
Similarly, damage to the back of a mirror can lead to a degradation of the reflective surface. Most backings are designed to protect the mirror from this very problem as buildups and exposure can often degrade the inside of the mirror’s inner surfaces.
“Foggy Mirrors” as stated above must be cleaned and properly maintained in order for you to have the perfect reflection in the mirror. In my case, I had to clean my Smoking and Foggy mirrors in order to see who I really was, who I was called to be, and who I would eventually evolve into late in my adulthood. I cleaned my mirror by not only accepting who I was, but also being happy and not content with myself. Looking into the mirror and knowing that all mirrors are not the same. They were not designed to reflect the same people. Every reflection represents what makes every woman beautiful. Our colors, shapes, moles, wrinkles, minor flaws which only describe you in your individualism.
The description of “Foggy Mirrors” states that the less you clean them (Affirm your own beauty, state how amazing you are, provide daily affirmations, work out for you, cut your hair for you, grow it for you, loose weight for you, gain weight for you) Cleaning your mindset daily will not cause the fogginess to turn into permanent Loss of Shine. It will diminish who you are, the beauty of your true YOU over time which leads to low self esteem, self hate, depression, and anxiety which will sink deeper and deeper past your Mirror.
Cleaning My Mirror
Now that we have understood the significance of mirrors, I believe that we are ready to challenge ourselves in a little Self-Q&A. I provided a list of some writing tools we can use to clean our mirrors from things in the past as well as our present. These writing tools are going to challenge you to seek your heart, open new doors, as well as close old ones. It will enlighten you to go forth and embrace the beauty of who you are, who you were, and who you are becoming and next time you will be confident asking “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who do I love most of all?”
Using 10 words, describe yourself.
What’s surprised you the most about your life or life in general?
What can you learn from your biggest mistakes?
I feel most energized when . . .
“Write a list of questions to which you urgently need answers.”
Make a list of everything that inspires you—whether books, websites, quotes, people, paintings, stores, or stars in the sky.
What’s one topic you need to learn more about to help you live a more fulfilling life? (Then, follow through and learn more about that topic.)
I feel happiest in my skin when . . .
Make a list of everything you’d like to say no to.
Make a list of everything you’d like to say yes to.
Write the words you need to hear.
The words I’d like to live by are . . .
I couldn’t imagine living without . . .
When I’m in pain—physical or emotional—the kindest thing I can do for myself is . . .
Make a list of the people in your life who genuinely support you, and whom you can genuinely trust. Then, make time to hang out with them.
What does unconditional love look like for you?
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