Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the prettiest of them all? No verbal response from the mirror, but reflections talk. The reflection tells the young woman that she is not good enough. The reflection of the young man is no different. As they stand before themselves evaluating their reflection, the brain reminds them of who they want to see. They visualize media celebrities--opulent behavior, worshipped and “God Given” looks. Male and female crave a beach body or an appealing face. The ones with possession of increased amounts of melanin wish they were the right race. As our favorite shows come on or our phones die, we become Usain Bolt, dashing for the quickness but slow and stumbling when were asked to say what we see in the mirror.

The mirror plays tricks on our minds because we are brainwashed by the things that we see. The things we see, vary from the lighter skin being praised and coily hair being ugly. The media indoctrinates stereotypes in our brains, making us believe that every black person is a criminal, or every white person is rich. Allowing us to have a president who is going to “Make America Great Again.” The media has the ability to help people as well as hinder them. Helping some people find themselves behind all the lies, and hindering people because they have become a part of the lies. Controlling these lost individuals like Pinocchio because they believe the strings are detached. Are we really a free world?

We “freely” try to portray what we see on billboards. We “freely” prefer scrolling down our timelines. We “freely” treat women like the lesser. We “freely” become aggressive beings. We “freely” smoke and drink. “It’s fun being free”, these are the things that make life better. “They make me happy”, “It takes the pain away.” This temporary free-ness has made us afraid to look in the mirror.  As I continue to witness the effects the media has on people, I have made commits not to let the media define who I am and the people around me. As Terry Wogan said “Nobody really knows what they look like. The mirror shows you only what you want to see.”