Mirrors

Speech

I want all of you to think of something, something that you use everyday. Really think; what is the thing that you use the most in any given day? Maybe it’s a laptop if you’re a writer, or a paintbrush if you’re an artist, or maybe a knife if you’re a crazy serial killer...sorry, I’ve been watching way too much Law & Order. Now, here’s the thing that I think all of you missed. A mirror. Okay, I know that this sounds like some valley girl cliché, but really, a mirror is practically essential for getting ready in the morning and not looking like you just stepped out of an episode of The Walking Dead. I probably use the mirror a good ten times a day, and I’m sure some girls use it more, unless if you are a girl from the Abnegation faction in Divergent where you only use a mirror every two months. So, mirrors can be pretty useful, but they only reflect what you look like on the outside, rather than the person you are on the inside. Lao Tzu famously said, “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” Sadly, the art of self-reflection has been forgotten for too long. Kevin Wood from Expert Enough writes, “Today we’re so wrapped up in a culture of doing that we’re rarely ever given downtime to sit and reflect.” But it’s time to bring introspection back. First, we’ll dust off the old mirror of self-reflection, and look how it has lessened over the years. Next, we’ll polish the mirror back to its old glory, explaining how self-reflection is important. Finally, we’ll hang the mirror to use it, seeing how we can reflect upon our actions and achievements.

So, first of all, the forgotten art of introspection. I decided to ask seven of my friends some questions about their journaling habits, to see what the average freshman girl thinks about self-reflection. The first question I asked was, “Do you keep a journal, diary, or anything where you sit down and write what you did or thought in a day?” Then, I asked them why they did or didn’t keep a journal. Only one out of my seven friends said that she regularly wrote in a journal because she liked to reflect, but she only wrote in it every one or two months. Two out of the seven stated that they occasionally wrote when they were bored or confused about something, but eventually they would get too busy and forget. One even said that she never wrote in a journal because she’s too busy and already knows how she feels. Three out of the seven were probably “too busy” to respond. The biggest excuse in all of human history. “I don’t have enough time to sit down and write about my feelings.” “I can’t spend an hour writing about something that could possibly depress me.” The list goes on and on. An endless polyphony of excuses. For some reason, society insists on using “I’m too busy” as an excuse, and according to Arin Gragossian of the Huffington Post, it’s also a big, fat lie. Gragossian writes, “too busy is simply code word for either not interested or simply a means of not being able to manage your life correctly because you're lazy. Previously, I used to think the idea of being busy was cool. It showed me a great sense of confidence that I was wanted and requested by others. Being busy was a vanity thing.” So, I think that society likes to use this excuse because it’s the most versatile and makes the most sense. It’s in human nature to want to be “in demand.” However, this famous and cliché excuse has caused us to lose that desire to journal and jot down your thoughts. 

Now, that we have that excuse cleared up, the reason that few people reflect is obvious. People are just plain lazy when it comes to doing something that they don’t feel like you have to do. 

But contrary to popular opinion, introspection is something that is necessary to improve your self-esteem, the way you act, and the things you say. I think that it’s awful how many negative thoughts people think every day. Again, Kevin Wood from Expert Enough says something that scares me: “We have over 50,000 thoughts a day, over half are negative and over 90% are just repeating from the day before.” Human nature leads us to criticize ourselves, especially ambitious perfectionists like me, even when we don’t deserve it. Jeanine Matthews from Divergent, even though she’s a villain, was slightly right about one thing when she said that “human nature is the enemy.” I think that when human nature tells people to internalize these thoughts that it tells us to think, it can ultimately destroy us. That’s why introspection is important. You really have to look at yourself and write things down and realize how amazing you are. Even if you lose a debate round, or don’t get into that college you’ve been dying to go to, writing your feelings down will help. No matter how much you hate the feel of the words appearing on the paper in front of you, it’s better to let it out than taste them building up inside you. Seeing something out in front of you will allow you to understand and cope with the situation better. There’s a reason diary entries start out with “Dear Diary.” It’s because we, as humans, need to hear feedback, but are often too shy to share with others. So, we write to Diary, a sort of stand-in for another you with whom to share your thoughts.