Into the mirror

Author's note: This is a fictional cause and effect piece. It shows the causes and effects of a girl's decision to become an anorexic and it shows the consequences of that decision.


If I didn’t look in that mirror, nothing would have happened. I wouldn’t be where I am today. If I didn’t look in that mirror, I wouldn’t be in the situation that I am in. If I didn’t look in that mirror, I wouldn’t be such a disgrace to look at. If I didn’t look in that mirror, my life wouldn’t be the same.

These TV shows are such lies that everyone watches. Barbie appears across the screen.I am thinking, stuck in deep thought; Pacing, stopped in mid tracks; Listening, my ears glued to the sound; Watching, my eyes not blinking… Everyone in the world is so concerned with looks. Without even thinking about it they just want to look perfect. Barbie is just a piece of plastic perfectly shaped, and flawless. Everyone thinks of her as their role model. Who looks like her? What person has her slender body shape? Who has her perfectly conditioned hair that falls flawlessly down her back? Nobody.

Nobody has her flawless looks. Well except maybe for my beautiful friends, celebrities, and models, but not me. I’m not even close. I continue watching TV with all of the Barbie and get skinny commercials. If only I could look like all of those people. Those “Barbie” people. The only thing wrong is that I am not skinny enough. Not skinny enough to be a “Barbie.” I go over to the mirror and peer into it.

 I just want to be skinny. How and why did I ever have to look like this?  What makes my stomach expand so much? Food. When I eat food I look less skinny but when you don’t eat food, your stomach will remain the same size. I want it to remain skinny. I just won’t eat food.

Every night once I get home, I tell my mom that I am going to eat upstairs and then I feed it to my dog. Already, I can tell the difference in my looks. At first, I started to get really hungry, but now my stomach just gets used to the feeling. Pretty soon, I will look just like a Barbie. Until my mom finds out from one of my friends.

I got taken to the doctor as soon as she found out. People would start to glare at me from how terrible I looked. I had to explain everything to the doctors and nurses. They ran multiple tests. The doctors came to tell us the results. Anorexia.

I was a complete wreck. I had to drop out of school so that I could get treatment every day for 4 hours. Food would be grinded up and fed to me through a tube. It was disappointing that I couldn’t even eat food by myself, that’s how ill I became. All day I would sit there getting needles poked into my skin that would leave a piercing feeling. In the hospital every day. That was my life. I could have had a much better life if I was thinking and didn’t make such an ignorant decision.

 People need to except who they are and how they look. That’s exactly   what I was saying, but I needed to understand it about myself first before others. If I really was concerned, I would have eaten healthier and made sure that I was exercising. God made you the way you were for a reason. One little decision, can lead to something much bigger.

If I didn’t look in that mirror, I would have never been in the hospital. If I didn’t look in that mirror I wouldn’t have learned how to except myself. If I didn’t look in that mirror, I would have never stayed strong in my character. If I didn’t look in that mirror, people never would have told me how beautiful I can be just the way I am. If I didn’t look in that mirror I would have never felt so good about myself. Nobody is  a “Barbie.”