Gazing into the mirror is like peering into two different lifetimes. 

Because I still look the same, 

And yet everything else has changed. 

And I can’t remember the day I realized that nothing was the same.

But I can remember when I cried tears of gratitude for the woman 

I was becoming. 

I can remember a prayer of thanks 

When my scars began fading. 

Gazing into the mirror feels like God looking over heaven and earth; 

Loving both, 

Yet knowing that one is better than the other. 

Like holding a lock and the key in the palms of my hands 

Knowing that I need both to unlock this magic that I am. 

So I guess I realized that nothing was the same when I could finally look into the mirror 

With compassion for who I was, 

Excitement for who I am becoming, 

And love for who I am.