Nothing judges more than the mirror positioned above your bathroom sink. The same mirror in which you stand in front of every morning trying to figure out why God couldn’t have made you differently, and of course, attempting to do it for yourself. The same mirror in which you perceive yourself uglier the longer the bathroom light stays on and the very mirror keeping you from flashing your smile upon leaving the room.

It scoffs as you plaster on just enough makeup to make sure people don’t see how you really look, smirks as you search for every piece of unwanted fat, cheers as you proclaim it’s no use trying anymore, and laughs as your tears land in the porcelain sink because then it knows it has won yet again, a victory that costs opponent’s dignity and sense of self-worth.

Confidence can be destroyed in the mere seconds it takes for the reflective screen to lock onto the stranger approaching it, you. Who you are inside is affected first, yet heals last, apparent in the narrow scars found on millions of limbs throughout the world and the too-many empty bodies who ultimately decided who they were at one time was not worth waiting to find out who they were going to be. A concept so disturbing because the pain is caused by the seemingly insignificant object in the smallest room of the house.

The evidence of how much one is affected is a disease on its own, following the infected throughout the day from one mirror to the next until they are finally left standing in front of the very mirror they began their day at. The disease is not a product of imagination, something used as an excuse, or a joke. A large result of our current recession, each and every obsession, the disease known as, depression.

Depression is the lonely man next door holding a gun to his head while weighing the pros and cons of living. As of recent, the cons have outnumbered the pros yet he can’t allow his finger to squeeze the trigger because although the pros are outnumbered, they are still not outweighed.

Depression is the girl across the street slitting her wrists due to the torture she endures every day. She doesn’t know how beautiful she is because everyone tells her otherwise, so she ends her days by staining her carpet red in an attempt to forget everything they say.

Depression is the drug addict willing to try any drug that makes him happy. When asked why he risks his life on thin white lines and sharp crystals he claims it’s worth the risk because a couple hours of happiness is better than none at all.

Depression is the **** victim who can no longer trust because one night a man decided to sprinkle powder in her drink just to make sure his “needs” were met. She has to learn to love again due to a single night gone wrong.

Depression is the woman who just had her third miscarriage who is surrounded by mothers choosing to end their baby’s life before they get a chance to experience what that life has to offer. She can’t seem to figure out why so many escape from something she has wanted for so long.

Depression is the homosexual man who prays to God in wonder of why he was made that way. He is endlessly ridiculed for a decision he did not make and only strives for the same love everyone else seeks. Those certain of his path after death forget the same book declaring this fate also wishes for all to love one another and not doing so will result in the path they feel he is destined to go down.
Call it exaggeration, but a world rid of bathroom mirrors could equal a world rid of self-affliction. A world rid of pinpointing the imaginary problem and the tears following the realization that these problems cannot be fixed. Most importantly, it would rid the world of the belief that you are not good enough.

The next time you look in your bathroom mirror I ask you to look past all the disappointments and missed opportunities. Look past all the misconceptions you have ever had about yourself, because through that you will see someone willing to overcome every obstacle and take on every joy. If you still don’t see that person then look again, because bathroom mirror fog always clears up when you wait long enough.