Connection

I will always remember the first time that I looked into the mirror and experienced my own true beauty.

- Liz Witter

It was not something I had expected to see. As I gazed into the reflection, I understood that I had unexpectedly found something that I had been searching for throughout my entire life. Everything that I had once perceived as beautiful was missing, yet the reflection in the mirror spoke of beauty with profound clarity. I noticed that the six pack of abs, in the past inducing feelings of pride and competitiveness, were buried under a layer of soft fullness. My hair, once cut and dyed to mimic the latest trend, danced around my shoulders wild and free like fire. My eyebrows, once so meticulously drawn and colored, were bare for all to see. My nose (the one I had spent many hours staring at, hoping it would magically shrink) was highlighted with a small green gem. The teeth that had been repeatedly and unsuccessfully bleached looked more disc