Barlow Girl: “Mirror”

“Mirror”

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Have I got it?
‘Cause Mirror you’ve always told me who I am
I’m finding it’s not easy to be perfect
So sorry you won’t define me
Sorry you don’t own me

Who are you to tell me
That I’m less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?
I don’t need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won’t try, I won’t try

Mirror I am seeing a new reflection
I’m looking into the eyes of He who made me
And to Him I have beauty beyond compare
I know He defines me

You don’t define me, you don’t define me

Inspiration:
It’s very hard in this day and age to be content with how we look. Everywhere we look, from magazines, movies, and music videos, we are constantly reminded that we don’t measure up. We aren’t as tall, skinny, muscular, beautiful, or perfect as we should be. The mirror reminds us that we don’t measure up with the images of others.

We girls became more and more discouraged because we didn’t like what we saw in our mirrors. We wanted to know: “Who defines what good looks really are?”, “Who decides how tall and skinny we should be?”, “Who says that blond is better than brown, and full lips are better than small lips?”, “Who makes all these guidelines that we’re expected to follow to be ‘in’?” Instead of asking God why He made us look and act the way we are, we were tormented by our own mirrors. God showed us that He made everyone look different for a reason, and we could learn to be excited about how He had made us. We realized that we would never be happy until we ignore what our mirrors say, and allow God to show us who we really are in Him.

In Memory Of

Gary Gygax

1938-2008 

“The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience.  There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you’re involved in, whether it’s a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.”

NY Times Article 

I never met Gary Gygax, but my life has been profoundly affected by him.  When I was 16, I wandered around my local bookstore (The Book Nook, which no longer exists).  On the bargain table, which I constanly haunted for good finds, was a copy of the AD&D Monster Manual.  Here, I thought, was a book that had hundreds of fantasy monsters in it, that could give me endless fuel for my writing.

I. Had. No. Idea.

My interest quickly spread and I picked up the other related books.  The Player’s Guide, the Dungeon Master’s Guide.  And the introductory boxed set.  I played through the modules with my brother, sister, and friends.  I still have one of the maps, actually.  And my very first Monster Manual.

Adam, Nick, myself, and a couple other friends played through much of my remaining high school years.  I was always the DM. My games weren’t spectacular, but we had fun. And don’t forget the Challenge of Champions: Go Misfits!

After graduation, there was a lull in my gaming.  Eventually I found a group online to play with.  My first real character was a male Dwarven fighter, that I still speak of with love.  Since then, I’ve run my own games, played in some others, and since discovered role-playing games outside of D&D.

But D&D will always remain my first gaming love.  It had wonder, imagination, and a lot of fun.  I’ve made friends that will last me a very long time.

Thank you, Gary.