I went from hating my reflection to wanting nothing more than to see it again.
Kirsten King for BuzzFeed
The idea of challenging myself to not look in a mirror for a week came to me as I sat staring at myself in the mirror after a long day. My face had broken out (Thanks, PMS!) and I spent at least 10 minutes in front of the mirror picking out every single flaw, and probably imagining several others. I hated my eyebrows, the shape of my nose, and the way my ears stuck out. I was mad at my mirror, I was mad at my body, I was mad at my face. But mostly, I was mad at myself for wasting precious time looking at my reflection and hating it. At 24, I thought I was getting to the point in my life where I finally stopped disliking myself. But clearly this wasn't the case.
1. Avoid looking in a mirror for a week.
I would cover my mirrors and avoid anything that would show my reflection as much as possible.
2. If/when I do catch my reflection, look away as soon as possible.
It wasn't so much about not looking at myself as it was about not hating what I saw when I looked.
3. Try to avoid negative thinking revolving around my appearance.
Like I mentioned, this whole idea was started by the simple fact that I was unable to look at my reflection without tearing myself apart. That wasn't allowed to happen this week. Only positive thoughts about my appearance!
I set to work covering up my mirrors and preparing to not see myself for an entire week. Here's what I ended up learning over the course of seven days.
Lara Parker for BuzzFeed