My Reflection in the Mirror 镜中影

I stared at my reflection in the fulllengthmirror for what seemed aneternity1. Next to me were the dozens ofdresses I’d already thrown into the“reject2”pile.

Dress shopping for my thirty -yearhigh school reunion had become veryfrustrating. I’d gained weight slowly overthe years. How could I possibly find adress that looked good on me and howcould I attend the reunion looking likethis？ I hadn’t seen most of my classmatessince high school graduation. Surely，everyone would notice I had gainedweight. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. Ifinally chose a simple black dress， onesize too big， so it would be loose3 andcover my curves4.

That evening I tried on the dress againat home. Who was I kidding？ The dresslooked horrible！ Just then， as if on cue5，my husband and young son walked in.

“Mom， what are you wearing？”Myson giggled6.“That dress is too big！ ”

My husband agreed. I looked at myreflection once more; I looked like I waswearing a sack7. I don’t know whatcame over me， but I started to laughuntil happy tears fell. It felt so good tolaugh！ It must have been contagious8，because we all stood there laughing.

I returned the dress the next dayand in its place I bought a bright red，formfitting9 dress！ This time when Istood in front of the mirror， I couldn’tbelieve it—I loved what I saw.

“Wow， you’re so beautiful！ ”myhusband said， when I turned around toshow him.

On the day of the reunion I wasnervous. I slowly walked into the venue10.

“Honey， there’s no way you can’tbe seen with that beautiful red dress，”my husband said.“Flaunt11 it！ ”

He knew just what to say to makeme feel better， and he was right. Justthen， one of my friends ran over tohug me.

“You look amazing，” she said，excited.“I couldn’t miss you walking inwith that cute dress！ ”

That evening I reminisced12，laughed and danced the night away.

That was nine years ago. Sincethen， I have learned to love my body.

That moment I stood in front of themirror was a turning point for me. Irealized later that those dresses I tried ondidn’t look bad on my body; it was myinsecurities13 that made them look bad.

My reflection in the mirror was thereflection of my lack of confidence.

But nowadays， Ilove what I see！

我凝视着全身镜子里自己的模样良久。旁边是我已经扔到“废品”堆里的几十件连衣裙。

为我的三十年高中同学聚会买衣服变得非常令人沮丧。这些年来，我的体重慢慢增加。我怎么可能找到一件穿起来很好看的衣服，我又怎么能以这副模样参加聚会？自从高中毕业后，我就再也没见过我的大多数同学了。肯定每个人都会注意到我变胖了。我感到尴尬和羞愧。我最终选择了一件简单的黑色连衣裙，大了一码，这样它会很宽松，能遮住我的曲线。

那天晚上，我在家里又试穿了这条裙子。我在骗谁呢？这条裙子看起来糟透了！就在这时，我的丈夫和年幼的儿子走了进来。

“妈妈，你穿的是什么？”我儿子咯咯地笑道，“那条裙子太大了！”

我丈夫也同意。我又看了看自己的倒影；我看起来像是穿着一个麻袋。我不知道自己是哪根筋不对了，但我开始笑，笑得流出了眼泪。笑的感觉真好！它一定具有传染性，因为我们都站在那里大笑。

第二天我把这条裙子退了回去，并买了一条鲜红色的合身的裙子替代它！这一次，当我站在镜子前时，我简直不敢相信———我喜欢我所看到的。

“哇，你真漂亮！”当我转过身来给丈夫看时，他说道。

聚会那天我很紧张。我慢慢地走进会场。

“亲爱的，你不可能不穿那条漂亮的红色连衣裙让人看看。”我丈夫说，“炫耀一下！”

他知道该说什么让我感觉更好，他是对的。就在这时，我的一个朋友跑过来拥抱我。

“你看起来棒极了。”她兴奋地说，“你穿着那条可爱的裙子走进来，我怎么能错过呢！”

那天晚上，我整晚回忆着旧事，大笑着，尽情跳舞。

那是九年前的事了。从那以后，我学会了爱我的身体。

我站在镜子前的那一刻对我来说是一个转折点。后来我意识到，我试过的那些衣服穿在身上并不难看；是我的不安全感让它们看起来很糟糕。

镜子里我的倒影是我缺乏自信的写照。

但现在，我喜欢我所看到的！

▏Notes

1. eternity 永恒，永久

2. reject 次品，废品

3. loose 宽松的

4. curve 曲线

5. cue 暗示，提示

6. giggle 咯咯地笑

7. sack 大麻布袋

8. contagious 具有感染力的

9. formfitting 合身的

10. venue （活动的）场所

11. flaunt 炫耀

12. reminisce 叙旧；回忆旧事

13. insecurity 不安全，无把握