Reflections | Teen Ink

Reflections MAG

By Anonymous

      I stand in a hallway, watching students roll by. I see girls who laugh because they know no one has ever seen them cry.

I see girls who bury their eyes in books because they don’t want to face a world where there is no Prince Charming.

I see girls who wave pom-poms because they like the feeling of being the best.

I see girls who dance in their bedrooms like a swan princess, but act as clumsy as they can so no one will look at them twice.

And then I see a girl over by the trophies. She is smiling, but only because she knows she doesn’t look like any of those girls. She looks like she doesn’t have to hide, she doesn’t have to pretend. She does whatever she wants.

But she has a secret in her eyes. And I see what she does hide. She hides her life, because every time she looks back, all she finds is disappointment.

Then I see one last thing: That girl is my reflection. So I turn away, because I realize I am like those other girls. I have a secret. I live a lie. The lovely facade I wear every day is just that.

So I walk down the hall, passing cheerleaders, bookworms, Goths - an array of worlds that somehow match. Because all the faces I see have the exact same smile as me.



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This article has 15 comments.


on Apr. 19 2012 at 8:33 am
SexyCobraKiller BRONZE, Scottsdale, Arizona
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I am sorry. Anyway, it's alright. It's cool how you let the reader know that everyone experiences such "facades" in their life. Everyone kind of represents something that is not really them. The intro is chill, because it seems distinct from normality. 

on Sep. 27 2011 at 4:53 pm
ChelseaB SILVER, Defiance, Ohio
9 articles 13 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hey, see if they've got any pie. Bring me some pie. I love me some pie."-Dean Winchester, Supernatural

Love this.  It's perfect, even if you don't think you are.  Most people can relate, whether or not they realize or admit it.  It's beautiful, thank you for posting it. <3

on May. 28 2011 at 9:20 pm
Posiedensheartbreak SILVER, Denver, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Any one can be normal it is pure talent to be weird.&quot;

This article is absoultly flawless. In some way or another i think everyone can relate to it and the hook you used to reel people in was brillant.

on Dec. 1 2010 at 4:57 pm
OriginalCarbonation GOLD, Naperville, Illinois
11 articles 0 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
dream as if you&#039;ll live forever<br /> live as if you&#039;ll die tomorrow

After looking at this again just a quick note on word choice.

I think the most dramatic is the first line - roll gives a different sensation than seems appropriate - although I know what you were going for.

Also, the line about cheer-leaders seems a little ambiguous as far as what exactly their facade is, or what they are hiding.

One last comment is that the third and fourth paragraphs about you, seems to contrast. First you say you have nothing to hide, then that you do. Maybe adding a "seem" or a similair word would clarify that for the reader.

But my earlier comments are still held true, this is a very very good work. I just thought with a little extra it could be just spectacular. :)


on Nov. 30 2010 at 11:47 pm
MoriahR. BRONZE, Tomball, Texas
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments
This was really beautiful! Thank you for writing it!

on Nov. 30 2010 at 7:19 pm
OriginalCarbonation GOLD, Naperville, Illinois
11 articles 0 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
dream as if you&#039;ll live forever<br /> live as if you&#039;ll die tomorrow

Wow. Beautiful. That brought tears to my eyes, truly. Thank you

HelloLove said...
on Oct. 17 2010 at 7:17 pm
HelloLove, Dexter, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 68 comments

Favorite Quote:
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you&#039;re at. <br /> -Hatter<br /> Tut, tut, child! Everything&#039;s got a moral, if only you can find it.<br /> -Dutchess

So so true. I'm glad someone finally pointed this out

on Jul. 21 2010 at 11:31 pm
SillySarah BRONZE, Covert, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live today as if there is no tomorrow.

I love this. . . It is so true.

on Jul. 21 2010 at 6:17 am
deus-ex-machina14 BRONZE, Stewartsville, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 439 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;There are two main tragedies in life. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.&quot; -Oscar Wilde

Other people who's personalities may be more pronounced than you like Goths, cheerleaders, and things like that are just different sides of you. That's the thing abut going to school and seeing so many different people. Because of the ways you can relate and understand each of them differently. Great job!

on Jul. 3 2010 at 5:47 pm
Heathurrlovesyouu SILVER, Morristown, Tennessee
5 articles 3 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Nothing of me is original, I am the combined effort of everyone I have ever known.&quot; -Invisible Monsters

I agree with this article very very much. Wonderful.

on Jun. 7 2010 at 10:00 am
VioletsandVoice, Spiritwood, North Dakota
0 articles 0 photos 170 comments
it's really sad how originality is concidered so wrong in this day and age

aly-mack10 said...
on Feb. 24 2010 at 5:17 pm
I totally agree with you. Everybody think they are better than other just because of how they look like and not because of how they really are in the inside.

liv31590 said...
on Feb. 17 2010 at 1:28 pm
i totally agree,we all are fake, and hinding our flaws from the world around us.If we all(preps, goths, bookworms) broke through and showed our real selves the world i think would be a better place. good job i'm glad someone else has realized this too.

CoachBill said...
on Feb. 17 2010 at 9:06 am
CoachBill, Humble, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
Questiion Authority <br /> <br /> &ldquo;One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life. The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community.&rdquo;<br /> Albert Einstein

There is much talk these days about education reform. Ideas generally focus on the competence of teachers or the contents of textbooks. It seems to me that the real problem is that we have created a culture of mediocrity where the goal is to blend into the gray morass of conformity rather than stand out and bathe in the light of excellence.

on Jan. 25 2010 at 3:34 pm
Pastinaface SILVER, Short Hills, New Jersey
6 articles 2 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Be yourself, and you will find, those who mind don&#039;t matter and those who matter don&#039;t mind.&quot;

Really, really, good. And this really reflects me and how I feel about everyone around me. I feel like you took the words out of my mouth.