The mirror

I looked in the mirror

And today

Instead of focusing on my flaws

On picking out everything I hate about my face

Instead of being my own worst enemy and self-critic

I looked

Really looked

At this girl

Who has been through so much

I looked

And I saw a girl who loves

Who laughs

Who plays

And I looked at photos from last year

And I realized

I am not a sixth grader anymore

I am not a silly

Short messy hair

Laughing in every photo

Did not believe in ponytails

Sixth grader anymore.

I am not a seventh grader anymore either

I am

Still young

But

Almost done with middle school

(thank God)

I am

An eighth grader

And I looked at myself in the mirror today

And I saw

For the first time

That I have truly grown up

Truly shaped myself into a human

With her own opinions and ideas

Her own life

Not an extension of my parents' or my friends'

I looked at myself in the mirror today

And saw a fourteen-year-old

Who's ready for anything.