It’s that time again: time for another round of Writers Reveal! This week’s topic was sent to me by the host of the event, Emily Morgan, who suggested the prompt “the eyes of my enemy”. From that idea, I decided to write a short piece about an issue that many young people face at some point in their lives. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for the topic, Emily!
The Eyes of My Enemy
(Image used with permission from @angellastrucci. Check out her Instagram page for more amazing drawings!)
“You suck.”
“Shut up.”
“I mean it. That’s total crap. You think anyone’s gonna like that?”
“I said shut up.”
Every day was the same. I had to put up with an endless torrent of abuse from her, my worst enemy, with no ammunition to fight back. She had a power over me that I couldn’t overcome, that I hadn’t been able to overcome for years. She was the only one I couldn’t stand looking at. And I had to see her every single day.
“Good luck.” Her sarcasm burned like acid in my fragile mind. I wanted to punch her, but I would only hurt myself. She was invincible.
“Bite me.” I put down the brush and walked out the door.
The rest of the day wasn’t usually so bad. After each of our encounters, I would simply try to forget about her and go on living my life. But lately I had been finding it harder to push her from my thoughts. The more she tried to bring me down, the more confidence I lost in myself. And the more confidence I lost, the more she managed to bring me down. It was a vicious cycle, and I couldn’t take it much longer…
By the end of that day, I had somehow ended up in tears. Having finally reached my breaking point, I was ready to confront her for dragging me down to this level. I stormed into the room where I knew I’d find that girl always waiting to tear me down.
But she wasn’t there.
Instead, I found a different girl looking back at me, a girl I had never seen before. She looked vulnerable, nothing like the empowered enemy I had known for so long. In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized her…
…were it not for her eyes.
Something in those dark brown eyes spoke to me, telling me I wasn’t alone, that she had always been just as sad and scared as I was. And suddenly I realized what I should have done right from the start. I smiled at her and whispered…
“You are beautiful.”
For it was the first time that I saw myself in those eyes. The real me, not the girl who disapproved of herself and wished she had more to offer the world. All she wanted was to be loved. I took a step forward and pressed my hand against the glass. She pressed her hand against mine.
“This is ridiculous!” I laughed. “You’re beautiful! You’re smart! You’re a good person! And you deserve love.”
Her smile warmed my heart. I saw her bitter persona fade away to reveal the good soul underneath. The girl I couldn’t stand was gone, and in her place stood a girl who I would be happy to see every single day for as long as I lived.
With a newfound confidence, I turned and walked away with my head held high. She turned in perfect unison with me and disappeared into the void.
I would never see my enemy again. From that point on, I would look into the mirror, straight into those beautiful eyes, and see only myself.
She used to be my worst enemy. But now, as she’ll be for the rest of my life, she is my best friend.
This has been a special topic post in Emily Morgan’s Writers Reveal. To learn more, just follow the button below to her site, and be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the event. Thanks for reading!
Other bloggers in the Writers Reveal
Melissa Khalinsky: Melissa Writes
Jodi Gibson: JFGibson
Becky Fyfe: Imagine! Create! Write!
Josefa: Always Josefa
Rhianna: A Parenting Life
Ashley Howland: Ghostnapped
Emily Hawker: You Learn Something New Every Day
Ok, second time today a post has made me teary eyed. I think I might be peri-menopausal. This was amazingbeautifulawesome. That’s a word. I promise. You can use it on one of your vocabulary posts – your welcome.
Thank you so much, Beth! Glad you liked it! And I’ll be sure to make a note of that word, haha! Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Oh this brought tears to my eyes J.C. so beautifully written and so relatable. Brings me back to my teens and my teen daughters now xx
Thank you! It’s a shame when young people lack self-confidence, especially young girls. Doubt can really do some damage in the long run. I wish you and your daughters the best! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Written so beautifully, I was captivated. So many could relate to the vicious cycle you describe xx
Thank you! It really is a vicious cycle, but it’s a great triumph when we find the strength to break it. Thanks for reading! 🙂
As the others said, beautifully written, J.C. It’s too common for young girls to doubt themselves=)
Thank you! It is too common to feel self-doubt, but it’s wonderful when we can find the courage to love ourselves. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Wow! What a powerful piece. Well done – you should somehow share this with Teenage girls, a message they need to hear.
Thank you! I agree; it’s definitely a message young girls need to hear! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Very empowering piece. I didn’t go through an ‘I hate the face in the mirror’ phase and it still spoke to me – I can only imagine it would be even more powerful to those that did. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! I didn’t really go through a self-loathing phase either, but I did have an anger phase as a teenager, so I guess I sort of drew from that. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Hmm it’s so sad that we are capable of being our own worst enemies, particularly during times of vulnerability such as teenage. Equally, though, we are also capable of building ourselves up and reinventing ourselves – humans really are amazing creatures. Thanks so much for this post – you really did my topic justice!
Thanks again for the topic! Glad you liked the post! It is sad that we can be our own worst enemies, but it’s great that we can also be our own best friends! 🙂
Oh what a wonderful piece. This is something every young female needs to read.
Thank you! Glad you liked it! Hopefully more young girls will be able to hear this message in the future. Thanks for reading! 🙂