What happens when you take a look in the mirror?
I see a tired, exhausted woman, but I see a small sparkle being restored in her eyes.
A sliver of the person I was 20 years ago when I lived abroad.
Perhaps it was fitting that a former classmate of mine noted that I brought in the New Year with an animal print dress, a clear parallel to those famous Roman snakeskin pants, decades before.
The liberation and confidence I had exuded so many years before.
Perhaps it was a not so subtle reminder of the days long ago, when my self conviction was so fueled, I could have gone to the moon.
Now it wouldn't get me to the backyard.
I remembered a time when I walked into a room, and people noticed. Heads turned.
When I spoke with authority, and people eagerly paid attention.
Slowly, over time, I had started to lose it. I didn't feel it. I didn't even notice it was happening.
Until I looked in the mirror today and I saw the tiny shine.
A twinkle that had been gone for a long time, and had been replaced with an exasperated, tired, haggard woman.
So while I carry on this voyage, I begin the process of becoming the full gleaming girl again. To take charge of a room and be listened to. To remember my charm, my worth, my potential.
I will bring back my tenacity, and I will do it with hot pink lipstick and an animal print.
Promise.
Xoxo, C.
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