LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
This was a staged photo of Fletcher and me that was used in our Lipscomb yearbook (Backlog) and later on a college student recruitment brochure. I have always liked this black and white photo’s composition. We were both on the Backlog staff (Fletcher was Business Manager, I was Copy Editor) and happily obliged to pose in graduation caps and gowns for the picture.
Somehow when we looked into that mirror, our college graduation suddenly seemed real. Being seniors had been a wonderful experience, and we were feeling confident and certain that the friendships we’d made in college would last.
For me, mirrors have always been like magnets. It began with my father. When he built a new home for us, the long narrow entrance hall had a floor to ceiling mirror on one wall, and there was another large mirror on the wall next to the dining table. Sitting at the table, I just couldn’t seem to resist watching myself in the mirror while eating and talking. I always told him I liked seeing myself the way he was seeing me.
Looking into a mirror is very revealing. The mirror image is totally present, but often causes you to reflect on the past or look forward to the future. In this picture, I felt that the mirror was giving me a glimpse of the future. There was satisfaction and happiness in finishing college, and great anticipation of going to graduate school in the fall.
When we graduated that June morning, the sudden realization that this marked the end of our undergraduate life finally hit me. Yes, we’d always gone home for the summer but we knew we’d be coming back in the fall. Not this time. There were hugs and tears and promises to stay in touch. And then it was over. Another chapter was beginning.
Mirrors are less fascinating to me now. A friend commented a few years ago that my bathroom mirror was “very forgiving.” If so, I’m grateful!
Seeing a story 