Learning to Love My Reflection

Self & Identity series

I used to avoid mirrors. Not because I hated myself completely, but because I didn’t know how to love what looked back at me. I’d pick apart my face, my body, my posture. I’d search for flaws, compare, judge, adjust. And somehow, no matter what I did, it never felt enough.

Learning to love my reflection isn’t a one-day thing. It’s not a checklist or a finish line. It’s noticing the small things: the way my eyes hold curiosity, the shape of my hands, the curve of my smile when it comes uninvited. It’s quieting the inner critic that has lived in my reflection longer than I have.

Some days I catch a glimpse of myself and feel pride. Other days, the old voices creep back in. But even then, I’m learning to meet my reflection without shame, without apology, without negotiation. I’m learning that love isn’t always a thunderous, overwhelming feeling. Sometimes it’s a gentle acknowledgment: I am here. I exist. I am worthy.

It’s a process. But with each glance, each moment of noticing without judgment, I get a little closer. Closer to peace. Closer to belonging to myself. Closer to finally saying: I like her. I like me.