You're beautiful just the way you are.

Normalcy, a true statement.

I’m not normal - far from it, I don’t see the same person in the mirror that everyone else does.  Wait, that makes me normal.  Reset.

I’m normal, just like everyone else, the reflection in the mirror is not how I think I look to others.  I’m sure I don’t look as good as I think, maybe not as slim, maybe not as beat, definitely nothing special.  That is the defining thought that makes me just like everyone else, the fact that we see our imperfections before we see the attributes we posses.  Are we inclined to tear ourselves down before we clean the rubble and find pieces we like?  I know I’m guilty of it, of looking at what someone else will see as a negative first.  I have my good days when I leave the house and agree with my mirror that it’s a good day to be me.  But that armor lasts only so long; throughout the day things will chip my defenses and by the time I get home all I’ve got is my long johns on.  What happened to my armor?  My shield?  It was the look in someone’s eye, or the lack of someone’s eyes not catching me.  We hold “beauty” on such a pedestal that each imperfection we see in ourselves only pushes it that much further away.  The worst part of it is that for the most part we do it to ourselves; while others love everything about us we don’t see why they would.  It ruins us internally and we can’t help but project it out.  We make ourselves ugly.  We make ourselves victims and lower our defenses, we make ourselves prey, we open the door to unhappiness, we close the door to the simple fact that, should accept ourselves for who we are, we might have a chance at being happy.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Yes, you could stand to lose a few pounds; no, your hair isn’t perfect; of course if you don’t work at it you’ll never be on the cover of a beauty magazine.  Why would anyone pay me any attention if I can’t even stand to look at myself?  Funny thing is they would.  As horrible as you seem to you, there is someone out there looking past the projection and seeing the real you. Plain as you are is as perfect as you are.  The guy I see in the mirror is pretty normal looking to me but I know I’m not for everyone.