When I was five years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall. My mirror reflected a joyful girl back at me. She was smiling with her chubby cheeks and freckled face. Her emerald eyes were bright enough to light up the entire bedroom. She looked happy with her reflection.

The mirror chuckled as the girl walked away and got into bed.

When I was ten years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall. My mirror reflected a content girl back at me. She was smiling still, but smaller this time. Her face was still freckled and her cheeks still chubby. Her emerald eyes appeared slightly faded. She looked satisfied with her reflection.

The mirror chuckled as the girl walked away and got into bed.

When I was thirteen years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall. My mirror reflected a sad girl back at me. She was no longer smiling and her eyes were now a dull shade of grey. She was no longer the lively girl that had looked into the mirror eight years prior. She looked empty. She stared at her reflection and forced a smile. She looked unhappy with her reflection.

The mirror chuckled as the girl walked away and got into bed.

When I was fifteen years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall. My mirror reflected the skeleton of a girl back at me. She was crying. Tears cascading from her face, she was collapsed on the ground. She attempted to catch her breath, but the tears just kept falling. Her freckles were no longer visible under the countless layers of makeup on her face. Her cheeks were no longer chubby as the last meal she ate was days ago. She looked disgusted with her reflection.

The mirror chuckled as the girl walked away and got into bed.

When I was eighteen years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall. My mirror reflected a girl in a cap and gown back at me. Even though her makeup was well done and her hair was perfectly curled, she still looked drained. A tear escaped from her eye as she stared into the mirror. The girl I saw in the reflection was not the girl who stared into this mirror only thirteen years prior. The girl I saw had gone through so much heartache and so much stress. The girl I saw in the mirror wanted to escape from her adolescence, but she wasn't exactly sure how to. She looked ashamed at her reflection.

The mirror chuckled as the girl walked away and got into bed.

When I was eighteen years old I looked into the mirror that hung from my wall one final time. My mirror reflected a woman standing in an empty room back at me. Her makeup was natural and her hair was tied back. Her emerald eyes once again lit up the room. She tried to smile, but only tears escaped. She wiped them away. I then looked at my reflection in the mirror that hung from my wall for the final time. The woman I saw in my reflection was all packed up and ready to leave her tears and adolescence behind. She had gone through so much pain within the past thirteen years and yet she was still as strong as could be. She looked proud at her reflection.

The girl in the reflection chuckled as she walked away and out my bedroom door.