It started as a challenge. I covered the mirror in my room with a scarf, turned away from the bathroom sink, and learned to brush my hair by feel. No checking angles. No fixing my expression before a Zoom class. For a full week, I didn’t look at my reflection.

The first few days were uncomfortable. I didn’t realize how often I glanced at myself, out of habit, not vanity. Just to make sure I looked “fine.” Without mirrors, I had to trust that I did. And if I didn’t, no one told me.

I paid more attention to how I felt inside my body. Not whether I looked tired, but whether I was. I focused on how clothes fit, how skin felt after washing. In conversations, I stopped wondering how I looked while listening. I just listened.

Still, some insecurities didn’t go away. I imagined how I might appear, and some of those thoughts were still harsh. But without the mirror feeding me back every detail, those thoughts softened. They passed faster.

By the end of the week, I noticed people more, how they smiled, how their eyes lit up when talking. I looked outward instead of inward.

I didn’t become more confident overnight. But stepping away from mirrors made space for other kinds of seeing. And that shift felt… surprisingly freeing.